Tell HN: A warning not to use namecheap.com – they'll steal your domain,

22 points by andrewstuart 5 years ago

So I was out for a run and thought I'd check a domain name.

Here's a screenshot from my web browser history on my phone, note the date Monday 27th September.

https://imgur.com/a/Hymwg27

This morning I thought I'd consider the domain name again, but now it's no longer available. Here's a screengrab from whois - note the date 28th September.

https://imgur.com/a/A5meq6d

Look I knew the risk but I didn't really think it likely - but here you have it - hard evidence (we'll hard enough to convince me) that namecheap will stgeal any good domain you search in their site.

Try doing a google search on "namecheap stole my domain".

version_five 5 years ago

Edit 2: I looked at the images and read the other comments and realized the poster had a fanciful theory about Namecheap using Godaddy as a proxy to steal the domain name he searched for the previous day. This discussion should probably be closed.

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There was an article not too long ago where someone else claimed this (it was with a .quest domain name) and someone from namecheap categorically denied it.

FWIW, I have also checked domains on namecheap and have not had them squatted.

I'm cynical enough however to believe they could start doing this.

Edit: see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26327939 for the earlier discussion

And here is a the (putative) response from namecheap on reddit at the time, linked in the HN discussion: https://www.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/lwgrkz/comment/gpjp...

  • andrewstuart 5 years ago

    >> the poster had a fanciful theory about Namecheap using Godaddy as a proxy to steal the domain name he searched for the previous day.

    So what's your theory? Coincidence?

    Why is it so fanciful that they would not use their own registrar? Seems the inverse to me - if you're doing something shady why would you explicitly identify yourself?

    • HeyLaughingBoy 5 years ago

      Yes, coincidence. People (probably) search tens of thousands of domain names each day. A certain number of those domains will end up being taken by someone else in short order simply due to coincidence.

      It's the same coincidence that causes every really good name I come up with for a site to have been taken years ago. There are a lot of web developers out there!

      • andrewstuart 5 years ago

        >> taken years ago

        this was taken the next day

        • groundpepper 5 years ago

          I think you're seriously underestimating how much it would cost to run an operation like this and how little it would return them. As well as how quickly it would be discovered if done at a rate higher than coincidence.

  • smoyer 5 years ago

    Funny ... I had a bigger issue with the word "steal". If Namecheap did in fact squat on the domain he searched for, they could only register it because he hadn't - I don't for a minute think this is ethical (or even nice) but I doubt you could argue this is an actual crime.

shaicoleman 5 years ago

I've been with Namecheap for 13 years, and in my experience they are one the most ethical and respected companies in the field.

I would guess it has leaked some other way - either you told someone, or it was leaked via your ISP, DNS resolvers, browser extensions, phone malware, whois servers, etc.

Or it was just a coincidence.

salawat 5 years ago

Actually, I'm pretty sure all domain registrar's may do this. This is, sadly, an inherent characteristic that f the centralized DNS model, and the decision to embed so much value and brand identity into a domain name.

Squatting! Interesting that namecheap is being accused of it now. They've specifically denied it in the past, and sometimes lurk here. You might get lucky and get a response.

throwaway81523 5 years ago

You have to assume they all do that. Don't check for domain availability unless you intend to buy the domain that very minute.

distracted_boy 5 years ago

I've checked for domains multiple times on namecheap, never have I experienced something like this.

ajay-b 5 years ago

NameCheap is very confusing, the UI for domain management is terrible.

  • MerelyMortal 5 years ago

    Agreed. Last year I went looking for a good domain registrar. Namecheap was one of the finalists, the other was Dynadot. Both have good prices and free Whois privacy. I transfered domains to both services to see which one I would like. After 90 days once I could transfer the names again, I transfered them all to Dynadot.

    A couple of days ago, someone did an Ask HN for domain registrar suggestions, and this is what I wrote:

    > About a year ago I compared all of the top registrars by number of domains registered, for domain registration prices and feature pricing (like paying extra for whois privacy and ssl certs), and Dynadot just about tied with NameCheap, but I liked Dynadot's interface a lot better. Dynadot supports token-based MFA, free whois privacy, and free ssl certs. They also pass on the domain registration "tasting" period to the customer (if you purchase a domain name but change your mind in X hours, you can cancel and get your money back, in credits I think).

stocktech 5 years ago

Is namecheap owned by goDaddy? What am I missing?

  • andrewstuart 5 years ago

    They don't have to register via namecheap.

    If you stole something would you leave your ID card behind?