The Importance of Protecting Your Domains

Richard Branson and his company the Virgin Group are once again making waves in the business world but instead of engaging in a new battle with companies like British Airlines, Branson and Virgin are engaged in a virtual battle over the domain name richardbranson.xxx.

With the release of the new .XXX domain name in December of 2011, Branson was shocked to see that his name was registered like so many other celebrities and his name richardbranson.xxx was now online. Eager to protect his name and other Virgin intellectual properties his company filed a complaint with the National Arbitration Forum, an organization that oversees domain name disputes.

It Can Happen To Anyone

The domain was registered by an Australian resident on December 10^th 2011 who most likely intended to become a cybersquatter and hold the domain name for ransom until he received a very large payoff from Virgin.

Any cybersquatter knows how much domain names like richardbranson.xxx are worth and jump at the chance to register them when new domain name extensions are released. Richard Branson is lucky though because this .XXX domain name hasn’t been pointed to a porn website like so many other new .XXX domain names have been.

What’s next for Branson?

Virgin has a good case and will most likely be given the domain name if they can prove that it wasn’t registered in good faith. Branson’s case should be a wakeup call to celebrities and business owners around the world who want to protect their brand online and best interests.

Even though the average person or company has to spend money initially to protect their best interests online by registering all of the domain name extensions that apply to their name or brand, the cost is minimal compared to the potential long term financial damages that could result from dealing with a cybersquatter.

Match Your Online Credit Card Processing With Your Hosting

There are many business owners today taking advantage of flagship companies that are able to offer online services that meet most of a business needs. As technology becomes more innovative, more business are migrating all of their services and functions to be based online. One of the wiser and more popular trends for online business owners is to match the online credit card processing company with the hosting company. There are a few security and productivity benefits that make this an easy choice for many online business owners.

Credit Card Processing

Choosing a reputable merchant express credit card processing company is very important for a few different reasons. A well-known company processing payments for your business will add some credibility to your business and will help bring in customers. A reliable company will also ensure large payment and protection in customer disputes and returns. A company that can handle both your payment processing needs and hosting needs is mostly likely large enough to service all of your extraneous business needs you may develop as your business grows. It is important to select a provider that can handle your potential and projected business growth and sales volume.

Hosting

Having the hosting and credit card processing from one provider ensures the security of your data by creating less room for error in information transfers. It also ensures that the host can handle the burden of processing all of your payments. Choosing providers that meet both your needs will ensure all your needs are met opposed to shopping around for services every few months.

Working with providers that can offer all of their services you need or have established relationships with other appropriate providers will make your everyday business transactions much easier. Ultimately, it is simply easier and more effective to deal with one company opposed to two or three to manage your online transaction and security concerns.