Your domain is the foundation of your presence on the internet. Your website, email addresses, online shop, login pages and often even your phone system depend on it. If the domain fails, everything comes to a standstill: customers land on an error page, emails bounce as undeliverable, and in the worst case a stranger secures the name you have built up over many years. Even so, many businesses, associations and freelancers only look after their domain once something has already gone wrong.

Yet the most common causes can be ruled out with just a few simple steps: a missed renewal, outdated contact details, an unprotected customer account or an unwanted transfer. Right now in autumn, before the year-end business and the holidays begin, a quick check is well worth the effort. In this article we show you what to look out for and which protection features are available to you at FireStorm.

With the right settings, your domain stays where it belongs: with you.

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1. Secure your customer account

Anyone with access to your customer account can change name servers, request the auth code for a transfer or cancel the domain. Your customer account is therefore the most important key to your domain. Use a long, unique password that you do not use anywhere else, ideally managed in a password manager.

Even more effective is two-factor authentication. When logging in, you need a code from an app on your smartphone in addition to your password. Even if your password turns up in a data leak or is stolen through a phishing email, nobody can get into your account. Setting it up in the customer area takes just a few minutes.

2. Keep your contact details up to date

Legally, the holder of a domain is the person or company entered in the register. Make sure that it really is your company or association listed there, and not an agency, a former employee or a private individual. Otherwise, an incorrect holder entry can quickly lead to lengthy clarifications in the event of a dispute, the sale of the company or a change of staff.

The stored email address is just as important. For many extensions such as .com, .net or .org, the holder’s address must be confirmed within 15 days of a registration or transfer. If it is not confirmed, the domain is suspended, and the website and email are no longer reachable. Two tips:

• Use a role address: An address such as info@ or admin@ remains valid even when a person leaves the company.
• A second address with another provider: If the contact address is only on your own domain, warnings will not reach you precisely when the domain has a problem. An additional address outside the domain provides peace of mind.

A missed renewal is still the most common reason why domains are lost.

3. Do not miss the renewal

Domains are registered for one year at a time. At FireStorm they renew automatically as long as the invoice is paid. To make sure nothing slips through the cracks, we recommend:

• Switch on the reminder email: In your customer account you can activate a reminder before renewal. This lets you see in good time which domains are due and deliberately cancel names you no longer need.
• Check your billing address: If invoices go to a mailbox that nobody reads anymore, payment is left undone. Enter an address that is checked regularly.
• Keep track of all domains: Besides the main domain there are often spelling variants, campaign domains or extensions such as .com and .swiss that only redirect. You should not let these expire by accident either, otherwise a third party can take them over and misuse them for phishing.

As an additional safety net, Domain Protect is included free of charge at FireStorm: if a renewal invoice remains unpaid, your domain still stays registered for up to 90 days. This gives you enough time to sort things out without the name falling into the wrong hands.

4. Prevent unwanted transfers

Moving a domain to another provider requires the auth code. Only you can request it in the customer area. Treat it like a password: never pass it on by phone or email unless you have initiated a transfer yourself. Depending on the extension, we also offer an additional lock, which you will find directly next to the domain in the customer area:

• Transfer lock (.com, .net, .org, .info, .shop and more): free of charge and active by default. For an intended transfer, you lift the lock with one click. If no transfer takes place within 30 days, it is automatically reactivated.
• Registry Lock (.ch and .li): Here the registry Switch locks the domain directly. As long as the Registry Lock is active, nobody can transfer or delete the domain or change the holder and name servers, not even with your login details. You can continue to edit your DNS records as usual. Setup costs CHF 45.00, followed by CHF 12.00 per year.

The Registry Lock is particularly worthwhile for domains that a lot depends on: a company’s main domain, domains with an online shop or those that are essential for email and customer communication. You will find all the details in our guide Domain lock.

5. Check DNS and settings

For all domains you register with us, DNSSEC is activated automatically. The records are cryptographically signed so that attackers cannot secretly redirect visitors to fake servers. In addition, the change log in the DNS manager shows you who changed which record and when. Take a look at it from time to time, especially if several people or an agency have access.

If you like to check for yourself, you can query the status of a domain with a few commands in the terminal:

whois musterdomain.ch
dig musterdomain.ch NS +short
dig musterdomain.ch DS +short

The first command shows, among other things, the registrar and the status of the domain, the second the responsible name servers. If the third command returns a record, DNSSEC is stored at the registry and active.

The checklist for your review

• Two-factor authentication set up in the customer account
• Holder and contact email correct and reachable
• Reminder email before renewal activated, billing address checked
• All secondary and redirect domains recorded
• Transfer lock active, or Registry Lock for important .ch and .li domains
• DNSSEC active and change log in the DNS manager checked

Domains at FireStorm

At FireStorm, DNSSEC, unlimited DNS records, domain forwarding, Domain Protect and, for many extensions, WHOIS privacy are already included in the price. Some examples (prices per year):

• .ch and .li: CHF 5.- in the first year, then CHF 13.-
• .com: CHF 13.- in the first year, then CHF 21.-
• .eu: CHF 8.- in the first year, then CHF 12.-
• .de: CHF 8.-

In total, more than 1500 extensions are available to you. You can transfer existing domains to us at any time using the auth code.

Conclusion

A domain is rarely lost through a sophisticated attack, but usually through a forgotten invoice, an outdated email address or a weak password. With a secured customer account, up-to-date contact details, an activated reminder and the right lock, you can close these gaps in less than half an hour. For your most important .ch and .li domains, the Registry Lock also offers the highest level of protection available.

Would you like to know which lock is available for your domains, or do you need help setting up two-factor authentication? Our support team will be happy to help. You will find all extensions and prices on our domain page.

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