Domain Name FAQ

Domain Name FAQs

The domain name is one of the most vital components of your website, and entire web presence. Though often treated as an afterthought, it can be the key to establishing your brand identity, generating traffic, and having success with your online endeavors. For those who use the internet as a business tool, having one is an absolute must.

While the concept of a domain name is pretty straightforward, the lingo and technology associated with it isn’t always cut and dry. The terminology can really be confusing for someone who is just looking into getting up and running with their very first website. To clear the air, this guide will answer some of the most frequently asked questions newcomers tend to have about domain names.

What Exactly is a Domain Name?

A domain name is a set of characters that represent an IP address. Every web address on the internet corresponds to an IP address, which is essentially a block of numbers that represents devices connected to the internet. Because an IP address is long and difficult to recall, domain names are needed to them easy to identify and remember.

How Can I Register a Domain Name?

A domain name can be registered through companies known as domain name registrars. These service providers allow you to register any available name of your choice for anywhere from one to five years. The actual price for registration may vary from one company to another.

What is the ICANN?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, is a nonprofit organization that was founded to oversee the internet’s Domain Name System. With the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) and other groups, the ICANN is responsible for assigning domain names, IP addresses, port numbers, and handling various other tasks.

What is ICANN Accreditation?

ICANN accreditation refers to the seal of approval the ICANN gives registrars to register domain names. Looking for accreditation credentials is the most reliable way to ensure that you are dealing with a trusted registrar.

Should I Register a Domain Name with a Non-Accredited Registrar?

You will often see companies offering domain name registration services that are not accredited by the ICANN. These companies are essentially resellers that are selling domains that have been obtained from accredited registrars. While you are free to do business with whomever you please, the ICANN strongly recommends that you only register a name with accredited companies.

What is InterNIC?

InterNIC (internic.com) is a website operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. It exists to provide various publicly available information associated with the Domain Name System. People often visit this site to search records in the Whois database, find contact information for accredited registrars, and file complaints against registrars.

How Much Does it Cost to Register a Domain Name?

The price for domain name registration varies greatly from one registrar to another. For example, you have some companies that offer registration for $10 or less, and others that charge $65 or more. The price could be even higher when you are going after a domain through an auction service or one that is already registered by someone else.

How Long Does it Take for My Domain Name to Become Active?

After paying your registration fee, and updating the nameserver information with your registrar, a domain name can take up to 72 hours to become active. However, it is not uncommon for the entire activation process to be done in two hours or less.

What Other Services Come Included with Domain Name Registration?

This all depends on the registrar, but standard services typically include forwarding, locking, and management. These services may not or may not cost you extra depending on the company.

How Do I Activate My Domain Name?

In order to activate a domain name, you will need to acquire the nameserver information from the company that will be hosting your website. Once you have this information, you must enter it on your registrar’s system, usually through a control panel interface, to make sure the domain is pointed to the web host’s server.

How Long is My Domain Name Registration Active?

ICANN accredited registrars allow you to register a domain name for at least a year. Most have the flexibility to offer two, five or even ten years at a time. Once the registration period has a expired, a renewal fee must be paid in order to keep it.

What is a Domain Registrar?

A registrar is an entity or organization that provides the services for registering a domain name. The best of these organizations are accredited by the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Name and Numbers), and allow you to register domains with TLDs (top level domains) such as .com, .co, .org, .net, and .biz. While all accredited registrars are required to pay a fixed fee to the ICANN, the actual prices they charge for registration tend to vary considerably.

Who are the Major Domain Name Registrars?

There are currently well over 500 domain name registrars on the market. However, some are much more popular than others. Some of the major registrars include GoDaddy, Network Solutions, Dotster, Fast Domain, and Register.com.


Can I Switch Registrars?

You can indeed switch to another registrar. In most cases, you must wait 60 days from the initial registration date. To learn more about the transfer process, confer with the registrar you want to switch your domain over to.


What is a TLD?

A top level domain or TLD, is the highest level in the hierarchy of the DNS (domain name system). In simple terms, it is the suffix or extension that follows the “dot” in a web address. The most popular example of a TLD is .com. Others include .net, .org, .biz, and .info.


Why is My Domain Name Not Available?

There is a good chance that the domain name you have decided on will not be available when you go to register it. This is especially the case if you chose a generic, catchy, and common name such as cars.com or airplanes.com. If you can easily think of a typical domain, it has probably already been registered. The good ones get more scarce by the day, so you often have to be creative to find something that really works.


What’s the Difference Between a Domain Name and URL?

The terms domain name and URL are often used interchangeably, but they are not one in the same. Short for Uniform Resource Locator, a URL is a protocol that identifies the location of a specific resource on the World Wide Web. In most cases, this resource is a web page, which may resemble something like “http://mywebsite.com.” In this example, the domain name is essentially a part of a URL.


What is a Sub Domain?

A sub domain is the second level of a primary domain. For instance, if your primary domain is “mywebsite.com," you can set up “page.mywebsite.com” as a sub domain. Sub domains are ideal for different areas of a larger website, or separate websites altogether.


What is the UDRP?

Established in 1999 by the ICANN, the UDRP (Uniform Domain Dispute Resolution Policy) is a policy that was put in place to resolve domain name disputes. The UDRP mainly comes into play when issues over ownership and trademarks arise. You must agree to this policy when registering a domain name with any ICANN accredited registrar.

How Many Domain Names am I Allowed to Have?

There is no limit on the number of domain names you are allowed to register. However, there may be a limit on the number you are allowed to have on a single web hosting account. Some providers only allow one, some allow a specific number, others allow an unlimited amount.

What is Whois?

Whois is an online database that contains a wealth of domain name information. These details typically range from the of the name of the registrant and registering company to contact information and expiration date. A totally free service, Whois is often used as a tool to check the ownership and availability of domain names.


What Should I Do If Someone Has the Domain Name I Want?

Once any given domain name has been registered, it is under the control of the registering party. The only thing you can do at this point is contact the owner, and ask if they would like to sell it. There are services available that will track down the owner and even make an offer on your behalf.

Why Do I Receive an Error Message When Typing in My Domain Name?

In most cases, you will receive an error message when your domain has not fully propagated to the new server. This is a process that takes up 72 hours. If your domain name is not active in 72 hours, contact the support department of your web hosting company.

How Can I Find Out if a Domain Name is Available?

You can find out if a domain name is available by visiting a registrar. Most registrars have built-in search engines that allow you to enter the name you want and check its availability. If it is available, you can instantly register it, or check around to see if another registrar has it at a lower rate.

How Do I Transfer a Domain Name?

Transferring a domain name from one registrar to another is a relatively simple and straightforward process. For the most part, you simply request that the old registrar unlock the name, have them confirm the transfer, and have the new registrar approve the transfer. When the process is complete, you can manage the name with the tools provided by the new registrar.


What is the DNS?

Short for domain name system, the DNS is the underlying system that translates IP addresses to the domain names we use to find websites on the internet. The system itself is made of two separate pieces of software: a DNS server, and a DNS client. The DNS is one of the numerous protocols that make up the TCP/IP suite of internet protocols.


What is a Nameserver?

A nameserver is a critical component of the Domain Name System. It stores the IP address data, corresponding domain name, and all the information the internet needs to find a website and send email to a particular address. When activating a domain name, the primary and secondary nameservers must be adjusted on the new server.

What is Domain Name Parking?

Domain name parking is simply the act of registering a domain name without using it for the common purposes of hosting a website or email address. This is ideal if you are not quite ready to build your website, or simply want to snatch up a good domain name before someone beats you to the punch.


How Can I Park a Domain?

Parking a domain name is a process that can be easily completed through most control panels. In most cases, you simply enter the name of the domain you want to park, and click a button. If you do not use the domain right away, the registrar will often park it for you to generate advertising revenue for themselves.

Who Really Owns a Domain Name?

Although conventional wisdom tells us that the answer to this question is the person who registered it, but in reality, the ownership of a domain name can be compared to ownership of a phone number. It is yours as long as you pay the fee needed to keep it. Once you fail to renew a domain name, it goes back on the market and can then be registered by anyone who wants it.


Can I Register a Domain Name With Any TLD?

A domain name can be registered with most top level domains, including .com, .net, .org, .biz and others. However, some are reserved for special purposes. These include .arpa, which is exclusive to technical infrastructure purposes, and .gov, which is reserved for United States government entities.


What is a Country-Specific Domain Name?

A country-specific domain name refers to a name that is registered with a country-coded top level domain. The most common examples would be .us (United States), .ca ( Canada), and .uk (United Kingdom). Depending on the extension, you may need to register the domain name with certain registrars as not all support country-specific TLDs.


What is a Free Domain for Life?

This is an offering you will often encounter when evaluating web hosting packages. Many hosts will offer a free domain name that you do not have to pay for as long a you have an account. If you want to transfer to a new host and take the name with you, special arrangements may have to be made.


How Much is My Domain Name Worth?

There is no putting a price value on any given domain name. What a certain name means to you, could mean something different to someone else. With that said, domain names can be quite valuable as some have been sold for millions of dollars.


How Do I Renew a Domain Name?

A domain name can be renewed through the registrar you originally registered with in the same manner. Many companies offer an automatic renewal option, which allows you to automatically pay just before the expiration date with the payment method you have on file. This is a convenient option for the busy person who may not remember, but cannot afford to forget to renew their domain name.


How Do I Cancel a Domain Name?

Once your domain name is registered and paid for, there is usually no way to cancel it without still having to pay the full registration fee. For this reason, your best bet would be to let the domain name you no longer want to expire, and then not pay the annual fee when it comes time to renew.


How Much Does it Cost to Renew a Domain Name?

The price of renewing a domain name varies depending on the company. In most cases, you will either pay the exact same rate you paid initially, or whatever the registrar’s rate is at the current time.


Can I buy domain names in bulk?

Domain names can be purchased in bulk. In fact, some registrars encourage that you buy in bulk and even present alternative options that could be useful for your web presence. In the right package, bulk domain names can deliver major cost savings.


What is Whois Privacy?

Whois privacy is a feature that protects your information from the public. When you register a domain name, a good portion of your details are made visible to the public. Whois protection turns this into generic information that keeps others from knowing more than they should.

Is My Domain Name Registrant Info Public?

When you register a domain name, there is certain information that is made available to the public in a database such as Whois. These details may include your name, the domain’s registration and expiration date, contact information, and more. If this is information you do not want publicly available, you can talk to your registrar to discuss an arrangement that protects your personal information.

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How to Remove Shortcut Extension from Windows 7

1. Click on Start and Type regedit in search bar and press enter (select yes if seen UAC prompt)

2. Navigate to following registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

3. Locate “Link” in right pan of registry editor

4. Double click or right click-> modify to modify registry key

5. Now change the value from 18 00 00 00 to 00 00 00 00 Press ok and exit regedit

Now try to create shortcut on your desktop and it should not show shortcut extension.

How to Remove Shortcut Overlay Arrow icon from windows 7

Download this Reg file and follow readme instruction included within zip file to remove shortcut arrow icon.

Please Note: Do backup your registry before proceeding for any of this tweaks, we will not be responsible for any issue problem or arises by using above tweak .

Chat with Friends in Command Prompt

-: Chat with Friends through ms dos Command Prompt :- 1) All you need is your friend's IP Address and your Command Prompt. 2) Open Notepad and write this code as it is.....! @echo off :A Cls echo MESSENGER set /p n=User: set /p m=Message: net send %n% %m% Pause Goto A 3) Now save this as "Messenger.Bat". 4) Open Command Prompt. 5) Drag this file (.bat file) over to Command Prompt and press Enter. 6) You would then see something like this: 7) Now, type the IP Address of the computer you want to contact and press enter You will see something like this: 8) Now all you need to do is type your message and press Enter. Start Chatting.......!

7 Tips for Successful Self-Learning

7 Tips for Successful Self-Learning

Monday, April 19, 2010 at 11:02AM

No matter what, you're going to have to learn most everything on your own anyway.

Self-learning is hard.  Regardless of where, when or how you learn - being a good self-learner will maximize your potential.

In this post, Hamilton Ulmer (an almost-done Stanford stats masters student) and I, will explore seven ways to become a great self-learner.

[ photo: flickr commons ]

1.  The longest path is the shortest and the shortest path is the longest

The shortest route to learning the craft of a field is the one that, at first glance, appears the longest.  To really learn something, you must understand the basic concepts of your field.  If you try to skip, you may end up spending more time figuring out concepts than if you had started with learning basics.

Have you ever wanted to take up a new subject, bought a book, only to make a failed attempt at the first few chapters before submitting to a lack of foundation for the material?

Starting at the beginning might seem daunting, but trying to skip to the goal directly is likely to fail.  If you are studying and unsure that you have the background for something, just stop when you don't understand something and go back to acquire that background.

2.  Avoid isolation

In school you have many effective feedback loops.  If you are confused, you can ask the lecturer for a clarification.  Your homework assignments and exams motivate you to internalize the content of the class, whether you want to or not.

Peers can help you smooth over small rough spots in your understanding.

A decent self-learner must find others who are familiar with the material.  Naturally one prefers to find an expert, but discussing the material with a peer can also go a long way.

Having a community is vital.  Often, a byproduct of finding or building a community is finding a mentor.  The one element of graduate school that is hardest to replicate is the advisor-advisee relationship.  They help guide you, smoothing out the uncertainties you have about certain topics, and help you make your own learning more efficient.

As a self-learner, you do not have the convenience of scheduled class time and required problem sets.  You must be aggressive about finding people to help you.

3.  Avoid multitasking

Another reason school is great for learning is that you plan your day around your classes.  There are distractions, of course, but if you're concerned with learning at school, you prioritize your classes over other things.

You don't have to be in a classroom or library to study, but notice the relative isolation and focus those environments afford over reading a book with your laptop on while writing emails and checking facebook or twitter with the TV on.

Remove the distractions and allocate large blocks of time.  You might find that for more difficult material, you need larger blocks of time to study because it takes longer to shift into the context of harder problems.

4.  You don't read textbooks, you work through them

Imagine taking a 12 hour flight with two books, Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Shilov's "Elementary Functional Analysis."  It would be typical to finish the 100 pages of Machiavelli in two hours or so, and spent the rest of the time working through 10 pages of a Shilov's "Elementary Functional Analysis," minus some breaks for napping and eating undesirable airplane food.

Reading a technical book is nothing like reading a novel.  You have to slow down and work carefully if you want to understand the material.  Have you ever found yourself 10 pages further in a book and having forgotten what you've just read?

Successful self-learners don't read, they toil.  If there are proofs, walk them through, and try proving results on your own.  Work through exercises, and make up your own examples.  Draw various diagrams and invent visualisations to help you develop an intuition.  If there is a real-world application for the work, try it out.  If there are algorithms, implement them with your favorite programming language.  If something remains unclear, hunt down someone who's smarter than you and get them to explain.  Sometimes you just need to put the material down, step away, relax, and think deeply to develop an intuition.

5.  Build Eigencourses
Great self learners spend a lot of time to find the best resources for learning.  You can find all the text books, papers and other resources you need on the Internet.  Many of the course materials from among the world's best universities are available for free online.  Check out the great lists of links to video courses on this Data Wrangling post.

You can pick and choose the best "eigencourse" with lecture slides, video lectures, textbooks, and other materials.  The best way  to find these materials is on Google.  You will often only need to pay for the book, and sometimes even the book is free at the course website in pdf form.

Take the time to triangulate on the right material.  Find the greats in the field, see what they use and recommend.  Find other students and read the reviews on Amazon.  Google is your friend

6.  What to do when you don't understand

Learning is all about abstractions.  We build up abstractions on top of other abstractions.  If you do not know the abstractions you are reading about that are being composed into new higher level abstractions, then you aren't going to understand the new abstraction.  If you get stuck, the way to get un-stuck is to follow the I'm stuck decision tree below.

The "I'm stuck" decision tree

• you are familiar with the abstractions you are seeing but...
  • you can't understand how they are being composed to form a new abstraction. 
    
    • what you are reading is a poor treatment of the material -> find a better treatment
    • you are rusty with the abstractions -> go review and come back
    • you are fine with the abstractions and the treatment seems clear -> work through it to develop an intuition.

• you are unfamiliar with the abstractions you are seeing
  • you know the field, but not this particular concept -> learn the concept and review other parts of the field on demand
  • you are unfamiliar with the concepts, terminology, and symbols; you don't even know what field this is part of -> you will have to step back from your current studies, find out what field you are in, and go learn a foundation in that field. (keep in mind that you often just need to build a general foundation in the field, or mastery of some subset of a field - you don't have to master the entire field.)

7.  There is nothing so practical as a good theory. -Kurt Lewin

"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." - Jan L. A. van de Snepscheut

Sometimes you are several hops away from something you can code up and apply to a problem directly.  Not all textbooks can be read with application in mind, despite that they serve as the theoretical foundation for applied work.  This is why you must have a deep sense of patience and commitment - which is why a prolonged curiosity and passion for a topic are so valuable.

Understanding analysis (particularly sets, measures, and spaces) will serve as your foundation for a deep understanding of probability theory, and both will then serve as your foundation for understating inference, and a deep understanding of inference is a mainstay of achieving high quality results on applied problems.

Avoid the dualistic mistakes of technical execution without intuition, and intuition without technical execution.

How to log as root user in ubuntu

• Open Console
#1.This steps are set the root password! but alrady you know root password skip it and goto #2.
• type sudo su
• type User password
• type Confirm Password
#2. This steps are to log as root user mode on console
• Type su in console and it will ask password for root user.then enter above password and hit Enter!

Windows 7 Cool Keyboards shortcuts

This article talks about 15 really cool keyboards shortcuts that are specific to Windows 7. I can bet that you don’t know all of them. Check them out, some of them will surprise you for sure.

1. Ctrl+Shift+N to Create a New Folder

Creating a new folder in Windows explorer is something we all need to do on a frequent basis. And until now, there was no default shortcut key available for this task. But Windows 7 changed that.
You could now use Ctrl+Shift+N to quickly create a new folder in Windows or anywhere on your computer where a folder can be created.

2. Ctrl+Shift+Click to Open a Program As Administrator

There are many instances when just clicking on the icon of the application and opening it doesn’t solve your purpose. You need to right click on it and click on “Run as Administrator” so that you can make the required changes to the app.
In Windows 7, this can be done with a keyboard shortcut. You just need to point your mouse cursor on that program and then click on it while pressing Ctrl+Shift keys to open it as administrator.

3. Shift+Right-Click Enhances Send to Menu

The above screenshot shows the default send to menu that I get when I simply right click on a program.
Now, if I press the Shift key, and while having it pressed, I right click on the icon, I get an enhanced send to menu. See the screenshot below to check how it looks.

Nice, isn’t it?
Also check 2 Useful Tools To Add Items & Customize the Windows Right Click Menu.

4. Shift+Right-Click on a Folder to Open Command Prompt

If you do Shift+right-click on a folder, you’ll find an option that says “Open command windows here.” If you love working with the command prompt, this option should come in handy.

5. Win+Space to Quickly Show Desktop

Remember our quick tip on hiding open windows in windows 7 ? Well, this is the keyboard shortcut version of that mouse cursor trick. Pressing the Win key and the space bar simultaneously shows you the desktop immediately.

6. Win+Up/Down/Left/Right for Moving the Active Window

If you intend to quickly move the active window to make space for other apps, you could do that by using the Win key and one of the arrow keys. Each arrow key would move the window in the direction it is meant to.

7. For Dual Monitors: Win+Shift+Left Arrow Key to Move Active Window to Left Monitor

If you are on a dual monitor setup using Windows 7 then you could press the Win+Shift+Left arrow key combination to move the active application window to the left monitor.

8. For Dual Monitors: Win+Shift+Right Arrow Key to Move Active Window to Right Monitor

Similarly, if you need to move the current window to the right monitor screen, just press Win+Shift+right arrow key.

9. Win+T to Get to Taskbar Items

You could use the key combination Win+T to toggle through the applications pinned on the taskbar in Windows 7.

10. Shift+Click on a Taskbar App to Open a New Instance of the App

Let’s say you’ve got a bunch of Chrome windows open. And you need to quickly open a new blank window of the browser. Here’s the way – point your cursor to the chrome icon on the taskbar, hit Shift and click on it. There you go!

11. Win+B to Move Focus to the System Tray

In a previous article, we talked about a technique to add more clocks to the default Windows clock in the system tray. Now, if you need to get there without using your mouse cursor, how’d you do that?
Answer – Win+B. That would move the focus on the system tray, and then you could use the arrow keys to cycle through the items, including the Windows clock.

12. Win+P for Quickly Connecting Your Laptop to a Projector

Windows 7 has a nifty projection menu feature which enables you to quickly connect your laptop to a projector or an extended monitor. Win+P is the keyboard shortcut for that purpose.

13. Win+1, Win+2..so on for Opening Taskbar Programs

Want to quickly open a program that’s pinned to your Windows 7 taskbar? You can press the Win key and the number corresponding to the location of the app on the taskbar.

14. Win+Pause helps you check System Properties

Need to take a quick look at what’s the processor model you are using, or may be check the device manager, or advanced system settings? You could use Win+pause key combination to open the system properties window.

15. Ctrl+Shift+Esc Can Quickly Windows Task Manager

I think this was in Vista too, I am not sure. But it’s a cool shortcut nevertheless. Just press the Ctrl key, Shift key and the ESC key simultaneously and you have the task manager pop up right in front!
So that was about the amazing Windows 7 keyboard shortcuts. I hope you find them useful. In fact, learn them if you are on Windows 7. That’s what I did and it has helped a great deal. If I’ve missed a cool shortcut, do share that in the comments.
Now, if you are on Windows XP, and would love to get some these shortcuts that are relevant to XP, we’ll have you covered tomorrow. We will tell you how you could get some of the above shortcuts working on XP. Stay tuned!