The administrative contact is in charge of the domain name's administrative management and is usually the contact person for legal questions concerning the domain name. This contact is generally the owner of the domain name. He/She has the ability to change all the other contacts. However, he/she cannot modify the owner of the domain name. This is one of the three mandatory contacts required to register a domain name.

The Afican Network Information Center is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), and is a non-profit membership organisation responsible for the administration and registration of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in the Africa region.

The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), responsible for the administration and registration of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, Korea, China, and Australia.

An estimation of the value of a domain name normally with comments as to why.

ARIN is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR), responsible for the administration and registration of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in North America, parts of the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa.

The billing contact is in charge of all the financial aspects concerning the registration and the renewals of a domain name. This is one of the three mandatory contacts required to register a domain name.

Bulk registration is a service offered by some providers allowing the registration of many domains at the same time.

A Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) is an extension designated to a certain country, eg. the .de in www.ofindo.de. For example .us stands for the United States .de for Germany. The rules and policies for registering domain names in the Country Code Top Level Domains vary significantly, so be aware of the specifications put into place by the different registries.

Is registering, or using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. Especially in the earlier days of the Internet, when the big companies hadn’t already realised the future interest of the web, many trademark names were registered by particulars who intended to sell these names to the trademarks owners at a much higher price than they paid for the registration. The trademark owner has the possibility to claim his name in justice, or to buy the name from the cybersquatter. But not only trademarks can be “cybersquatted” but also well-known people has been surprised when they saw that someone else registered a domain name containing their name.

Removing a domain name from the zone files (which store the information) for the top level domains. The Domain Name System (DNS) will no longer be able to resolve the domain name to its corresponding Internet Protocol number. This process is also known as "On Hold."

The domain name is deleted from the Domain Name System and the InterNIC domain name database. The location of computers on the Internet becomes impossible and other parties can register this domain name on a first-come, first-served basis. A domain name is in most of the cases deleted for one of the following reasons: at the request of the registrant, as a consequence of non-payment of fees or other reasons like ownership disputes etc

Is a domain name provider or another web services provider responsible for hosting domain names on specific servers and keeping the web sites online.

It is the address (eg. www.ofindo.com) which allows a site to be identified and located on the web. Composed of a maximum of 63 alphanumeric characters corresponding to a series of numbers called Internet protocol numbers that serve as routing addresses on the Internet. IP addresses are hard to remember therefore web addresses were developed to permit the use of easily remembered words.

A domain name must be unique! Disputes will occur when two or more different parties have a claim to a domain name. For example a domain name that is the same, or similar to, a valid registered trademark which is registered by a party who is not the owner of the registered trademark.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a local database that translates domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, individual Internet computers around the globe maintain their specific portion of this database, and the data held in each portion of the database is made available to all computers and users on the Internet. The DNS comprises of computers, data files, software, and people working together. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) typically assigns Internet Protocol (IP) numbers dynamically to these users. That is, they have a different IP number each time they log on to the internet. This allows a provider to use a limited number of addresses for all of their users as the ISPs total subscriber base is never logged in at once. To be able to register a domain name, the ISP must assign a static IP number (one that never changes). This is usually an additional cost. Of course, a computer system is still required that will host the domain. Most ISPs offer domain hosting.

This a single page web site that people see when they type the domain name in a web browser. This is one quick way for getting an Internet presence. Domain names can be parked before a web site is ready for launching. Domain parking can be classified as monetised and non-monetised. For monetised parking, ads are shown to visitors thereby potentially earning the registrant or the provider money. For non-monetised parking, an "Under Construction" or a "Coming Soon" message is put up on the domain.

Dynamic DNS is a system which allows the domain name data held in a name server to be updated in real time. This is mostly used for an Internet domain name to be assigned to a computer with a varying (dynamic) IP address. Some ISPs do not offer static (fixed) IP addresses and therefore this system allows computers with a dynamic IP address to be web servers, for example.

Is the last part of a domain name (for example the .com in www.ofindo.com) representing a country, eg .de or a type, eg .com. It is also called a Top Level Domain (TLD). The two varients are generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) aimed at the type of the website eg. .mobi for mobile phones or .com originally for companies and Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for specific countries eg .de for Germany and .us for the United States of America.

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The amount of time the domain name provider allows for the registrant to renew the domain name after the expiration date. This period varies from registrar to registrar and also depends on the extension.

stands for generic top level domain. These extensions were created to represent different organisations. The most popular and the most registered extension in the world is the .com, standing for commercial organisations but free to register to anyone. Currently the 20th gTLD, .asia, was released in October 2007. Serving as a regional domain, it will be / is (it is currently being rolled out) accessible to any individual, company or organisation based in the region of Asia, Australia and the Pacific.

• .aero- for the air transport industry
• .asia- a regional extension for Asia
• .cat- for Catalan language/culture
• .biz- for business use
• .com- for commercial organisations, but unrestricted
• .coop- for cooperatives
• .edu- for post-secondary educational establishments
• .gov- for governments and their agencies in the United States
• .info- for informational sites, but unrestricted
• .int- for international organisations established by treaty
• .jobs- for employment-related sites
• .mil- for the US military
• .mobi- for sites catering to mobile devices
• .museum- for museums
• .name- for families and individuals
• .net- originally for network infrastructures, now unrestricted
• .org- originally for organisations not clearly falling within the other gTLDs, now unrestricted
• .pro- for certain professions
• .tel- for services involving connections between the telephone network and the Internet
• .travel- for travel agents, airlines, hoteliers.

developed by InterNIC, this protection scheme protects domain name and other records from unauthorised updates. Free of charge, Guardian supports secure registration transactions in an automated environment.

is a single entry to a web page. If a web site has many hits, this means that it is popular. Hits can be counted, but it won’t help to find out if the visitor came accidently to the site.

is the Authority that currently oversees registration for Internet Protocol parameters, such as port, protocol and enterprise numbers, and various codes.

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the entity responsible for managing the Domain Name System (DNS) to make sure that every address is unique and that all users of the Internet can find all valid addresses. It does this by controlling the distribution of unique IP addresses and domain names. It also ensures that each domain name maps to the correct IP address. ICANN is also responsible for the accreditation of domain name providers for certain extensions, meaning ICANN identifies and sets minimum standards for the performance of registration functions, recognises persons or entities meeting those standards, and enter into an accreditation agreement which outlines the standards applicable to domain registrations.

Internationalised Domain Names are domain names which allow non ASCII (a-z and 0-9) characters to be used in domain names. Using Unicode, IDNs allow for language specific characters to be used such as ŋ, ﷲ, я, λ, ނ allowing speakers of these languages to brand their websites more to their audience. For this to function correctly, this Unicode name has to be converted to its ASCII equivalent. Only a certain number of registries allow the use of IDNs.

InterNIC is the provider for domain name registration services in .com, .net, .org, and .edu.

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a chain of numbers unique to a device on a network (eg. the Internet). This chain of numbers is converted into a domain name for ease of use. They are used as the first identifier for every device on the Internet. Static IP addresses are fixed to one device or website until it is chosen to be removed, whereas dynamic IP addresses can be changed regularly to for easy allocation to one of a number of computers.

IPv6 is a networking protocol which is the successor to IPv4. IPv6 allows a huge number of IP addresses (Internet addresses) relieving the current concerns regarding the restrictions of IPv4 which only has room for 4.3 Billion (comparing this to the growing world population of around 6.5 Billion).

IPv6 addresses are normally written using eight sets of four hexadecimal digits, ie 2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334 . This, compared to IPv4 using four sets of numerical digits, 192.168.1.1, shows the relative benefits as to the number of possible addresses. However this complexity requires more bandwidth.

LACNIC is a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mail forwarding is the process of resending an email originally destined for one address to a further address. For example, with mail forwarding activated, an email to user1@domain1.tld would be also resent to user1@domain2.tld by the mail server for user1@domain1.tld.

Possible uses include a group email address having emails forwarded to its members and if the recipient is on holiday, their emails can be sent to a further party.

Mail hosting is a service offered by providers, which allows the storage of emails on their servers normally together with a number of email addresses which can be accessed using standard email clients such as MS Outlook. Mail hosting is normally a premium service which can act as an alternative to advertisement supported email or webmail.

As larger businesses generally host their own servers, this service is normally used by Small – Medium sized Enterprises or demanding email users.

It’s a computer that resolves domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) numbers. This can be seen as a telephone book for the Internet. If a browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox does not know how to reach a website, it would ask the Name Server how.

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A web page which can be set up to have pay per click links which can earn the registrant money from the advertisers on the page.

There are currently five RIRs: AfriNIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC and RIPE NCC. These non-profit organisations are responsible for distributing Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on a regional level to Internet service providers and local registries.

This is the person or organisation that registers a domain name and that holds the right to use it for a defined period of time.

This document is used when the registrant wants to proceed to changes like correcting a typographical or other minor error in the registrant's name, change the registrant's legal name, or transfer the domain name to another party.

A registrar or domain name provider registers domain names to registrants. The registrar database contains customer information in addition to the Domain Name System (DNS) information contained in the registry database. Registrars process name registrations for Internet end-users and then send the necessary DNS information to a registry for entry into the centralised registry database and ultimate propagation over the Internet. Sometimes other services are provided such as email accounts, page parking and web hosting.

Is the charge for the initial registration of a domain name and the subsequant registration period (defined by the provider and the extension) paid to the domain name provider.

A registry is an organisation normally only responsible for one extension and registers this extension generally only to registrars directly and not to registrants. The registry database contains only Domain Name Service (DNS) information (domain dame, name server names and name server Internet Protocol [IP] numbers) along with the name of the domain name provider that registered the name and basic transaction data. It does not contain any registrant or contact information.

Domain name renewal is the process of prolonging the period of registration for a domain name. For example, a domain name may initially have been registered for a year, and if the domain is not renewed, it will eventually expire after the year is up and be deleted from the registry database. To prevent this from happening, the domain name must be renewed for a certain period of time, which depends on the provider and the extension. The current domain registrant has first refusal on the renewal of domain names.

A reseller is company or person who provides domain name registration services through a registrar.

The process which finds a domain name starting from an IP address. This is the opposite of the normal DNS lookup which finds an IP address from a domain name (IE by putting a domain name into your web browser).

The RIPE(Réseaux IP Européens) NCC (Network Coordination Centre) acts as the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe and surrounding areas and allocates blocks of IP address space to its Local Internet Registries (LIRs).

A system of 13 file servers located around the globe and containing authoritative databases that form a master list of all Top Level Domains (TLDs). There is one central server that replicates changes to the other servers on a daily basis. Different organisations maintain the servers on the root server system. The U.S. government is maintaining about half of the servers.

The second in the domain name's hierarchy. For example in the domain name, www.ofindo.com, ofindo is the second level domain. This part has to be unique for each extension and can be chosen by the registrant. It is often the name of company, product or the individual registering the name.

SSL is a cryptographic protocol that provides secure communications on the Internet for such things as web browsing, e-mail, Internet faxing, instant messaging and other data transfers. A virtual tunnel is created between the server and the client and the communicated data is encrypted hindering eavesdropping, tampering, and message forgery.

This is used for e-commerce sites collecting sensitive data such as credit cards and making payments.

The successor of SSL is TLS (Transport Layer Security), which currently has not yet become a standard for most sites.

In the domain name system, a subdomain is a part of a higher level domain. For example in www.ofindo.com, the “www” is a subdomain of “ofindo.com”.

This is the person who is responsible for the technical aspects of the domain name, such as hosting the web site as well as making decisions regarding IP (Internet Protocol) addresses, and authoritative name servers for the domain name. This is one of the three mandatory contacts required to register a domain name.

The third level in the hierarchy of domain names. For example the "www" in www.ofindo.com. This can be chosen by the registrant. Tradition states that for websites, "www" is used.

The Top Level Domain (TLD) or extension classifies the domain name. For example, in www.ofindo.com, the ".com" is the Top Level Domain and represents a company. For www.ofindo.de, the ".de" would represent a country, Germany. The registrant can only choose from a list of available Top Level Domains for the name they would like.

A name, graphic image, or a symbol identifying a product, a business or commercial company, that has been officially registered and legally restricted to the use of the owner or manufacturer. A trademark is used to prevent others from using identical or similar marks. Trademarks are registrated with the appropriate authority for each country.

A domain name can be transferred to another registrant or transfered with the same registrant to another provider, following authorisation. The Administrative contact can initialise this transfer procedure for a transfer to another provider and and the registrant for a transfer to another registrant. This can in most of the cases be done online.

A pointer to a page on the WWW or other resource on the Internet. A URL starts with normally http:// for web-pages (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), or ftp:// for FTP (File transfer Protocol, used for exchanging files over the Internet). That's followed by the domain name (www.domainName.com)

URL forwarding is when a request for a web address is forwarded to another web page. For example, if the forwarding is activated, typing in ofindo.de is redirected to ofindo.com. This can be in two forms; either the new URL appears in the address bar of the browser (sometimes called Normal Forwarding) or the new URL is hidden (sometimes called Stealth Forwarding or URL Masking).

The W3C is an international consortium of companies involved in the Internet which aims to develop common protocols that promote the evolution of the World Wide Web in a single direction rather than being splintered in different competing fractions.

Web hosting is a service offered by providers, which allows the storage of web sites on their servers. The complexity of this service can vary from shared (or virtual) servers to high powered dedicated servers uniquely for the client’s website.

A tool to query the details of a domain name. It is also used to check whether the domain name actually exists. The results should include the administrative contact, the billing contact, the technical contact and the name and address of the "owner".

WIPO is an intergovernmental organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, designed to bring uniformity to international copyright law. WIPO is promoting the protection of intellectual property throughout the world through cooperation among states in collaboration with any other international organisation.

A file on a root server containing domain name registration information. Zone files contain information necessary to resolve domain names to IP addresses and contain all information related to each domain name.

A Zone File contains data describing a part of the domain name space. For example, zone files hold the information that is needed to resolve the hosts of domain names to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for mail servers. Management of this allows greater control for multiple servers such as email servers and web servers.