Domain Name Hijackers Causing Problems
Over the past couple of weeks there has been several reports of domain names being stolen, primarily from web design related websites, and then being held to ransom for its return by the hackers. Chris Coyier from css-tricks.com was one of the victims of the online attacks as they had managed to hack into his gmail account and also gain ftp access through this as well. The hackers then refused to return the domain name to Chris, claiming that they owned it!
David Walsh, an online blogger, was emailed by his hackers whom demanded £2000 for its safe return. Walsh said, “from a personal standpoint, this incident took a large toll on me. My blog has helped me get jobs, travel to Europe to speak at events, and meet lots of great developers. The thought of losing the domain I’ve worked so hard to promote is terrifying. I’ve spent dozens and dozens of hours contacting the various parties involved to get the domain back, still without result. It’s shocking my accounts could be so easily compromised – it’s been a scary, scary wake-up call.”
It is an important to remember the importance of creating secure passwords and making sure that passwords across each of your different accounts in order to make it as hard as possible for hackers to gain complete access to your website and related accounts. Also, by regularly checking directories such as WHOIS, you will be able to keep a constant check on the status of your domain and be alert to any immediate changes that may have been made.
Situations such as domain name theft can be extremely stressful and can be very detrimental to your search engine optimisation (SEO) and your customer satisfaction levels. Be sure to contact your domain support if your find anything suspicious happening on your site to avoid these kind of attacks affecting you and your customers.
