REGISTRATION
The cost to register a domain name is $35.00 per year. As long as you pay the
yearly fee, the domain is yours.
If there's a domain you'd like to check availability for, you should enter it
into the searchbox on our homepage. If it's available, click the checkout button
and go through the registration process.
The first time you register a name with DomainAK, you'll need to set up an
account with a username and password. This is how you will get access to your
domains later. You may specify whatever username and password you'd like, as
long as it has not been taken by another applicant. If your username has been
taken, you will have to specify another username.
Continue on through the registration process, and your name will be submitted.
You will get a confirmation email at the email address you've chosen. You will
also receive all email correspondance through that email address, as well.
If you have any other questions, just let me know.
RECEIPT
In order to keep our costs low, DomainAK does not do any paper billing. All of
our transactions are conducted online.
Therefore, we cannot send you a receipt, as we have no capabilities for such.
You can, however, log in to our management section to get a listing of your
domains and when they were purchased, and use in combination with your credit
card statement, which will have a charge from us- "Domain
Registration" as your proof of purchase.
BILLING- AUTHORIZATIONS
When you attempt to make a purchase in our credit card system, we
"authorize" funds on your credit card. This is not a charge, but a
test to see if you have the funds available for the purchase. After the
authorization returns a result of sufficient funds, we attempt to register the
domain(s). If the domain registration fails for any reason, there will be a void
that accompanies the attempted charge. The net result is that there will be no
charge that posts to your account.
There is still, though, that authorization on
your credit card. This authorization looks like a charge, and will reduce your
available credit, but will expire on its own within a few days on most cards.
Some card systems, notably debit cards and PayPal cards (because they both deal
with your bank account) hang on to authorizations longer. You should contact
your credit provider for the specific authorization policy.
It is for this reason that we recommend
contacting technical support if you are having trouble registering a domain. If
you continue to submit time after time, you will rack up a large number of
authorizations, and may run out of available credit or freeze your account
funds. You may even cause your credit card company to suspect fraud, and they
will put a hold on your card.
BILLING- CVV2
CVV2 is a security measure we require for all transactions. Since a CVV2 number
is listed on your credit card, but is not stored anywhere, the only way to know
the correct CVV2 number for your credit card is to physically have possession of
the card itself. All VISA, MasterCard and American Express cards made in America
in the past 5 years or so have a CVV2 number, while those in Europe and Asia
will be joining the CVV2 program shortly.
HOSTING
DomainAK offers hosting plans and web design, click here
to learn more.
Once you have hosting, obtain your new host's DNS (NS1.SERVERAK.COM &
NS1.SERVERAK.COM) Information. Once you have their DNS info, you can return to "Manage
Your Domain" link in our "Manage" section
and update
your DNS records online, gaining access to our Member Login area with your
username and password.
Or, if you have a free site (such as a members site with AOL or Geocities), you
can point your domain there by using our URL-forwarding option.
The first option is the most direct. You can contact your host, and obtain your
new host's DNS (Domain Name Server) Information. Once you have their DNS info,
you can return to the DomainAK website and click on "Manage Your Domain" link in our
"Manage" section and update your DNS records online,
gaining access to our Member Login area with your username and password. Choose
the Change DNS Info link, then select the domain you wish to change the hosting
for and enter your new DNS information.
Some hosts, though, will not allow unique domains to point to your site. In that
case, you'll need the second option. That is our URL-forwarding service.
URL-forwarding is a function of the management control panel. Access the Manage
section through our Manage Your Domain with your username and password, and select the
URL-forwarding link. You can choose either free service, which will place an DomainAK
banner on your website, or pay the nominal fee of just $6.00 per name per year
to receive banner-free forwarding to the URL of your choice.
You can use a www URL- http : //www.yourcompany.com/yourexamplesite.html, or a
host URL- http : //12.34.56.789.
Both options will take 24-48 hours to take effect.
HOSTING III - changing DNS
Your host should have given you the primary and secondary DNS information. This
information will usually take this form:
Primary Hostname- ns1.serverak.com
Secondary Hostname- ns2.serverak.com
You can log on to our website at www.domainak.com, and click the "Manage
Your Domain" link in our "Manage" section. Enter the username and
password you chose at the time of registration. If you have forgotten the
username and password you chose, you may enter the email address you entered at
the time of registration to have your username and password emailed to you.
After you log in, you will see links to the actions you can perform. Click the
"Change DNS Info" link. You will be able to see the current nameserver
info listed. Select the domain(s) whose hosting you wish to alter, and click the
"Continue" button.
On the next screen, you will be able to enter the hosting information your host
has given to you. Replace the current servers with the new server info (you may
omit the IP addresses, as they are optional), and click the "Continue"
button. Your new DNS information will be automatically entered, if it is
verified to be valid.
It will take a couple of days (24 - 48 hours) for your change to propagate
Internet-wide.
URL-FORWARDING
URL-forwarding is available as a service from DomainAK. URL-forwarding is a
function of the management control panel.
Access the Manage section through our Manage Your Domain with your username and
password, and select the URL-forwarding link. You can choose either free
service, which will place an DomainAK banner on your website, or pay the nominal
fee of just $6.00 per name per year to receive banner-free forwarding to the URL
of your choice.
You can use a www URL- http : //www.yourcompany.com/yourexamplesite.html, or a
host URL- http : //12.34.56.789.
It will take a couple of days for your change to propagate Internet-wide. Your
domain will be hosted on our servers, and will pull up the webpage you specify.
Therefore, you cannot specify meta tags or other domain information. Your name
will be in the address bar of the browser window at all times- your
"real" web address will be hidden.
You may change your forwarding destination at
any time through the management control panel. Simply log back in to the Enable
URL-forwarding section, and update your web address. Click the Enable
URL-forwarding to update the address.
EMAIL FORWARDING
Email forwarding is available as a service of DomainAK. You can have "anymailrecipient
@ yourdomain.com" mail forwarded to any existing email address.
To activate email forwarding, log on to the Manage section via the Manage Your
Domain link on the left-hand side of our website. Enter your username and password. If
you have forgotten your username and password, enter the email address you used
at the time of registration, and we will email you your username and password.
Once you've logged on, click the Enable Email Forwarding link. Select what email
address you'd like to set up for your domain, as well as the email address you'd
like to forward that email to. If your real email address changes, no problem.
Just return to the Control Panel and the email forwarding section and update
your email address.
The cost for email forwarding is $8.00 per year for up to 10 addresses. You may
purchase an additional 10 addresses for $8.00. It will take 24-48 hours for your
email to begin forwarding.
TRANSFERS
If your domain was registered with another registrar, you can transfer it to domainak.com,
and choose DomainAK as your new registrar.
The cost to transfer a domain is just $16.00, and this adds one year on to your
registration term. For example, if your name expires in January of 2002, you can
transfer it to us and once the transfer is complete, the new expiration date
will be January of 2003.
To begin, click on the Registrar Transfer link at www.domainak.com. If you have
an existing account with us, enter your username and password. If you have never
used our services before, click on the New Users button, and set up an account
with a username and password. This is how you will get access to your domain
once the transfer is complete.
You will receive confirmation of your request immediately. Also, within 24
hours, the administrative contact listed in the WHOIS record will be asked to
verify the transfer request. Please make sure that the admin contact's email is
up-to-date before submitting a name for transfer.
In the admin approval email, there will be a link to click on, and a code to cut
and paste. Once you've approved the transfer, your prior registrar may email you
their own confirmation letter. Read it carefully and follow the instructions.
Once you've approved the transfer with them, your name should migrate to our
system within 5-7 days. FOR THIS REASON, WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU BEGIN THE
TRANSFER PROCEDURE AT LEAST TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION DATE.
The information currently contained in your domain will remain the same prior
to, during and after the transfer. Once the domain has successfully transferred
to our system, you may begin using the online management system to make any
changes you like.
TRANSFERS IV - NSI
If your domain will not transfer because it has expired, or if your registry has
it locked until you renew it, you do have a couple of options. One is to pay the
registrar their fee to renew it for a year, and then continue the transfer. The
other is to allow the name to be released, and then try to re-register it. We
don't recommend the second option under any circumstances.
It's entirely possible that someone else will get your domain
before you have a chance to reserve it. Additionally, it is the policy of some
registrars (most notably Network Solutions) not to release the domain no matter
how long it has been expired. If you want the domain at all, you'll have to pay
them at some point, sooner or later.
Therefore, we recommend that you do renew the name with your
prior registrar for one additional year. Then, you can continue the transfer
process to our system. You lose nothing by doing both. You'll get a one year
renewal from your prior registrar, and then we will add one MORE year on to the
end of your term.
If you have already paid for a domain transfer, and it has been
denied by your registrar, you can keep the transfer active, and, as previously
mentioned, continue the transfer after you have cleared your hold status at your
prior registrar. Should you choose to cancel the transfer, however, we'll be
happy to refund your money. All we need is the domain you're trying to transfer.
TRANSFERS V- email link
If your link returns a value of "invalid key" after you paste the
approval code in, this is most likely a result of multiple emails being sent
out. The latest version of your admin approval email makes all older versions
obsolete, and any key off these old emails will not function properly. If you
receive an invalid key warning, check for a later email in your inbox. If it's
not there, contact support to have a newer one sent.
If the link you're clicking on for transfers returns this
response- "Warning, your ID is invalid. Contact technical support",
then the remedy is to have the entire link contained in the browser window.
Some email programs have a "page-wrap" feature that
breaks our link into two parts, like this:
If you wish to verify and approve the transfer(s), visit the
following link:
https://secure.onlineaccess.net/trans.php?
email=email@domain.com&key=ti&FID=&IYD=1&secID=
For conveniences' sake, let's break this down like this:
If you wish to verify and approve the transfer(s), visit the
following link:
linkpart1
linkpart2
You will have to copy (CTRL + C) the first part of the link
(which begins with "https:" and ends with "?" in the case
above) and paste (CTRL + V) into the address bar your browser window. Do not hit
GO or hit the Enter key yet. Return to the email and copy the second part of the
link on the line below the first one (which begins with "email" and
ends with "=" in the case above) and copy it into the address bar of
your browser window, after the first part of the link you pasted there earlier.
In your browser window then, the address you need to go to is:
TRANSFERS VI- check transfer status
You can use the Check Transfer Status tool to manage your domain transfer away
from your previous registrar to our system.
Access the Manage section through our Member Login with your
username and password, and select the Check Transfer Status link. Your domain
transfers will appear. Some will require no intervention from you (marked in
green). Others (marked in yellow) may require you to resubmit an admin approval
email if the domain has not been approved for transfer with us. Or, you may
resubmit a domain for transfer to your prior registrar if it has been approved
on our end, but your prior registrar denied the transfer.
If a domain appears in red, it's status cannot be determined
automatically. Please contact us for help with these domains.
A domain that has successfully completed transfer will appear in
blue.
Some of the most common reasons for your prior registrar denying
the transfer include:
Not answering their confirmation email in time.
Not answering their confirmation email in the proper format.
The domain is expired or otherwise locked due to nonpayment.
LOST USERNAME/ PASSWORD
If you have forgotten your username and/or password for the domain you
registered, you can request it via email.
Log on to www.domainak.com, and click on the Manage Your Domain link in the Manage
section. There is a "Forgot Your Password?" section, where you can
enter your email address. We will email your username and password immediately.
IMPORTANT- Depending on your mail system, it may take some time to receive,
usually no longer than 15 minutes. You must enter the email address you used at
the time of registration. If you have forgotten the username and password, AND
your email address is incorrect or out of date, you will have to provide the
last 4 digits of the credit card used to register the name. Also provide the
new, correct email address so that we can update your info and send your
username and password.
If you have forgotten your username and password, AND your email
address is incorrect or out of date, AND you cannot verify your credit card
information, you will be asked to provide proof of ownership and identity.
We will first need a written request to provide access to the
domain. Accompany this request with a valid photo ID (passport, drivers license,
etc.) If the domain is registered to a company, we will need the signatory page
of the articles of incorporation for that company. All of this information is
required for security reasons. If you cannot provide any or all of this
information, you will not be able to get access to this domain. Please fax all
of this information to (347)823-668. Include your contact information (email
and phone), so that we may verify the information's validity.
NAMESERVER MANAGEMENT
Go to our website at www.domainak.com and access the Manage Your Domain link in the
the Management section with the username and password of the account containing
the domain you wish to specify as the hostname of your new nameservers.
Click the Nameserver Management link. You will be able to create new nameservers,
edit current nameservers, or delete current nameservers. The nameserver you wish
to create must be a domain in this account. Click the New button to create new
nameservers. Then, you will choose your new server hostnames- i.e.
NS1.YOURNEWSERVERHOSTNAME.COM & NS2.YOURNEWSERVERHOSTNAME.COM. You must also
fill in the IP addresses that you wish to associate with your new hostnames. You
must use 2 unique static IP addresses- no other servers may already use the IPs.
After each nameserver submission, click the Continue button.
If your information is valid, your nameservers will be sent to the central
database. It will take 24-48 hours for your nameservers to propagate.
Please note, this is the limit of our tech support- if you need support on how
to configure your server or any other issue, you must get outside support.
RENEWALS
You can renew your domain you registered at, or transferred to, domainak.com for
up to 10 years.
Simply log on to our website at www.domainak.com, and click the "Manage
Your Domain" link in our "Manage" section. Enter the username and
password you chose at the time of registration. If you have forgotten the
username and password you chose, you may enter the email address you entered at
the time of registration to have your username and password emailed to you.
You will see links to all of the actions that you can perform. One of the links
is to "Renew Your Domains". Click that link, and check the box next to
each domain you wish to renew. Click the Continue button.
Choose the length of time you wish to renew each domain for. (Remember, you can
renew for up to 10 years- if your domain will expire in 3 + years, you will only
be able to renew 6 additional years.) Click the Continue button.
You will then be asked about your payment information. Click the Continue button
to finalize the renewal.
IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO RENEW YOUR NAMES- use the "Disable
Renewal Notices" link in the manager. You will not receive further
reminders to renew your names, and they will be released on the expiration date.
DISABLING RENEWALS
If you do not wish to renew any of your domains, and you do not want to receive
renewal emails, you can stop the emails from being sent, and your domain will
expire at the end of it's term.
Simply log on to our website at www.domainak.com, and click the "Member
Login" link in our "Manage" section. Enter the username and
password you chose at the time of registration. If you have forgotten the
username and password you chose, you may enter the email address you entered at
the time of registration to have your username and password emailed to you.
You will see links to all of the actions that you can perform. One of the links
is to "Disable Renewal Notices". Click that link, and check the box
next to each domain you wish not to renew. Click the Continue button.
You will be prompted for confirmation, as this action means your domains will be
released at the end of their term. Click the "Yes" button to finalize
the disabling of your chosen domains.
REGISTRANT INFO CHANGES
We often receive requests to casually change the registrant information, since
it is the only aspect of a domain that cannot be accessed through our online
management system.
Some people wish to update their address that has changed, or the company name,
which has been bought out. Others want to remove their ownership information for
security purposes.
Changing the registrant information requires a higher level of security, since
it affects the ownership of a domain. You should also be aware that it may
affect your ownership adversely. For example, should someone file a WIPO claim
to this domain, one of the ways ICANN will resolve the dispute is to immediately
terminate a disputed domain if the information provided is known to be false.
Should you wish to go ahead with your change of ownership, we will require some
actions on your part, in order to assure good faith on your part, and reflect
security concerns on our part.
The steps for changing the registrant are as follows:
1. You should change your administrative, technical or billing contacts (at
least one of these) over to the information you wish us to use, in order for the
change to be accurate. We will cut-and-paste your information directly from the
contact you specify.
2. Make a request to support@domainak.com to change the registrant information.
Provide the domain, your username and password, and the contact info we are to
use.
We may ask for verification from the registered contact for this domain.
OWNERSHIP CHANGE
You can use the Change Ownership link on our website to sell your domain to a
buyer, or to change the registrant info for your domain registered with, or
transferred to, DomainAK.
Generally, the buyer (or new registrant) uses the link, and enters their
information in. The seller's information is automatically derived from the
domain. The fees to change ownership are $35 for a standard turn-around (10-14
days), and $199 for a rush job (1-2 days), plus a renewal fee, if the domain is
about to expire.
A form will then be generated that the buyer (or new registrant) signs and then
delivers to the seller. The seller must also sign the document, get it
notarized, and deliver it to us. The most common method of transmission is via
fax- (347)823-668.
This process is necessary because a domain has been ruled to be property, like a
house or car.
If you have any questions about the ownership change procedure, just let me
know.
CHANGING CONTACT INFO
Changing the admin, billing and technical contact information can be
accomplished via the Management control panel.
To begin, click the Manage Your Domain link on the left-hand side of our website at
www.domainak.com. Enter your username and password. If you have forgotten your
username and password, you can enter the email address you used at the time of
registration to receive your username and password via email.
Once you're in the Management system, click the "Edit/ Manage Contact
Handles" link. A contact handle is a shorthand version of all of your
contact information. You can edit any of your contact handles here (click the
"Edit" button next to the handle), or create new ones (click the
"Create New Handle" link at the top of the page). Once you have the
contact handle information the way you want it, return to the main screen of the
Manager.
Next, click the "Assign Domain Contacts" link. A list of your domains,
as well as the current IYD contact handle associated with the domains, will
show. Choose the domain you'd like to change information for, and click the
Continue button.
Choose what information you'd like to update- admin, billing and/or technical,
and click the Continue button. You may choose any of the IYD contact handles you
have set up in our system.
Click the Continue button to finalize the change. Our system will update
immediately, however, it will take 24-48 hours for the information to propagate
Internet-wide.
SECURE CONTACT INFO
You may use contact info of your choice for a domain. Many people are reluctant
to use their personal information, especially if a domain may be objectionable
to some.
This is technically a violation of the Terms of Service, which state that
correct contact information must be provided. DomainAK, however, will not take
action against you solely for that reason. We appreciate security concerns, and
allow you to provide whatever information you like.
Should your site be objected to, though, DomainAK will attempt to contact you.
If your contact information is false, and we cannot contact you to respond to
any complaint, your domain may be deactivated.
If you need to change registrant info to something more secure, follow this
procedure:
We often receive requests to casually change the registrant information, since
it is the only aspect of a domain that cannot be accessed through our online
management system. Some people wish to update their address that has changed, or
the company name, which has been bought out. Others want to remove their
ownership information for security purposes.
Changing the registrant information requires a higher level of security, since
it affects the ownership of a domain. You should also be aware that it may
affect your ownership adversely. For example, should someone file a WIPO claim
to this domain, one of the ways ICANN will resolve the dispute is to immediately
terminate a disputed domain if the information provided is known to be false.
Should you wish to go ahead with your change of ownership, we will require some
actions on your part, in order to assure good faith on your part, and reflect
security concerns on our part.
The steps for changing the registrant are as follows:
1. You should change your administrative, technical or billing contacts (at
least one of these) over to the information you wish us to use, in order for the
change to be accurate. We will cut-and-paste your information directly from the
contact you specify.
2. Make a request to support@domainak.com to change the registrant information.
Provide the domain, your username and password, and the contact info we are to
use.
We may ask for verification from the registered contact for this domain.
CHANGING ACCOUNT INFO
Changing your default account information can be accomplished via the Management
control panel.
To begin, click the Manage Your Domain link on the left-hand side of our website at
www.domainak.com. Enter your username and password. If you have forgotten your
username and password, you can enter the email address you used at the time of
registration to receive your username and password via email.
Once you're in the Management system, if you wish to change your password, click
the "Change Your Password" link. You'll be asked for your current
password, as well as your new password twice. PLEASE NOTE: Once you hit the
"Change Password" button, your change is finalized.
If you wish to change the default account information click the "Update
Account Information" link. You'll be able to update the email address for
your account, your default registrant & contact info, your default
nameservers and your default credit card information.
NEW ACCOUNTS
If you have domains under a username and password, you can create a new account
and move a domain in your current account to that new account.
The best way to create a new account is to go to our home page and search for a
domain that does not exist, such as
asdgsdfgwtertgrteqagsdfbdswtwfafvasdfweragdasfvasfasfwfasfwe.com.
When that comes up as available, click the Checkout button and then enter the
New User section. Fill out the default information for the new account, and
click Continue. (If you like, you may enter default credit card info as the
following- VISA 4444444444444444 03/03 This is a "dummy" credit card
account.)
After your new account has been verified, click the Cancel button to stop the
registration. You will not be charged, and the domain will not be registered if
you click the Cancel button, but the account will still be valid.
Once you have the new account set up, you can contact support@domainak.com. Give
us the domain, as well as the username and password for the current account, and
the username of the account you want us to transfer the name to.
MERGING ACCOUNTS
If you have created more than one account with DomainAK, you can merge all of
your domains into one account.
Simply provide the username and password of all the accounts you have, as well
as the username of the account you want to be the single account for all of your
domains.
We will transfer all of your domains into the account with the name you've
specified.
INTERNIC UPDATES
It usually takes two business days for updates made online at DomainAK to be
seen elsewhere on the web, including hosting information.
This is standard Internet propagation time.
Additionally, some registrars whois databases are not compatible with others.
You may wish to use a central whois lookup, as one registrar may not carry
another's info. Your best bet is always to look up a domain at the registrar of
record. To find out who the registrar is for a name, go to http://www.internic.net/whois.html.
WHOIS DATABASES
WHOIS databases are specific to each registrar. If you registered the name
properly, it will show in our WHOIS database immediately. It will show in the
InterNIC central database 24-48 hours later, but might not ever display in
another registrar's database. That doesn't mean someone else can register the
name, the name record is still taken, but it might not show you as the owner.
Your best bet is always to look up a domain at the registrar of
record. To find out who the registrar is for a name, go to http://www.internic.net/whois.html.
EXPIRED DOMAINS
Domains that expire at DomainAK are released after their term expires. Please
remember when looking at a domain's expiration date that the format is
Month/Day/Year- MM/DD/YEAR.
Domains that expire at another registrar are subject to their own policies. They
do vary from registrar to registrar, however, there are some consistencies.
There is usually a grace period, and then a period when the domain is "on
hold"- where nobody can do anything with it.
Generally, you will need to give a domain at least 30 days from the time of
expiration to be released. You cannot put in any kind of "pre-claim"
on the name. You'll have to wait until it is released by the registrar, and then
register it manually. Lately, Network Solutions has adopted the policy of not
releasing domain names. If a name expires at Network Solutions, they will
require it to be re-registered at NSI.
For a registrar's specific release policy, you should contact the registrar that
owns the name. You can find out who is the registrar for a specific name by
entering the name into the central database search engine at http://www.internic.net/whois.html.
