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Anyone else have proof of Domain Name Front Running?

21 points by pmack ↗ HN
This has come up a bit on HN. The registrar I used to use (still have a bunch registered) is based in Canada - did this to me last week. Searched for a name, 2 weeks later the registrar registered it to sell for more. I think this is despicable company behavior. Any recourse? From now on I'm only going to search for a new name from Icann and Cira in Canada.

19 comments

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wmf
They all do that and have for years. It's not safe to search for domains through any registrar.
pmack
Do they all do that? Must be a tough business...
cpach
That’s a bold claim.
antifa
No, it's generally true. The rule of thumb is better stated as:

Until after your domain is purchased, or you know who the current registered owner is, the domain you are shopping for is a closely guarded secret, more valuable than a master password.

Assume everyone (slack, msteams, your browser extensions, your firewall, your corporate VPN, your co-worker's electron apps) is snopping on you and will get a commission for leaking your domain to the fronting groups.

Domain squatters charge a minimum of that's at least $2000.

bjorn2run
Can’t say for sure they don’t, but I haven’t experienced this with Hover and have a bunch of domains with them. I’ve searched and come back weeks later without this bummer situation. Sorry to hear it happened to you!
ipaddr
What register? MyId, GoDaddy?
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
spl757
I use namecheap and I haven't noticed this, but I also haven't really looked.
Xorakios
I thought GoDaddy did this, but stopped. Haven't seen a problem with them in years
cookiengineer
Had these coincidences a bunch of times when I was writing with someone on Telegram. Like, 3 times in a row. We were discussing potential domain names for a project and they got auto-linked and probably auto-scanned by Telegram's preview bot, which in return probably shares the data with a third-party company.

Never post your domains anywhere online nowadays, until you really registered the domain and the DNS entry is pointing to your server.

bradknowles
Some do, some don't. I've never had this problem with GANDI, for example.
pcthrowaway
Gandi was acquired earlier this year and I wouldn't have so much faith in the new ownership just yet
cssanchez
Just want to mention that I've searched many names with Porkbun and Cloudflare Registrar recently and they haven't done this, so maybe try with either of those for future reference.
pmack
I'm going to move to Porkbun. Heard positive things, and their transfer and pricing seems pretty good.
pacerier
Why porkbun? Do you despise cloudflare in registraring?
simne
I see this behavior from time to time. I don't think its right, but I cannot remember any law, which prohibit it.

So, I decide, when I will buy my big domain, will make checks from some hosting like cf, or just download full list of all domains I could consider, and run all searches locally.

Trias11
Instead of fighting with evil (unless it's your quest) - look for a good guys, like namecheap, and use them.

Lots of time, nerves and money saved.