Did I screw up by putting in my phone number in when registering for a domain for my self hosted stack? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dontevendrivethatfar · 2023-10-17 16:15 I've purchased a few domains in my life, but it was always through Google Domains in the past. This weekend I bought a new one through Cloudflare so that I could make a nice subdomain structure for all of my self-hosted apps. That went great - I'm using Traefik and Pihole for the local DNS. But in the past two days, I've gotten 28 spam calls and a handful of text messages from companies who want to design my website, or logo, or something else. I only listened to the first few voicemails but they did mention the name of the domain I purchased. This didn't happen when I used Google Domains. Is there something I missed? I knew this information was public, but I feel like I must have screwed up somehow and it put me on a lot of spam lists. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pivotpixels · 2023-10-17 16:20 Idk if cloudflare provided you with an option for privacy protection on your domain but looks like you didn't get that. Most good domain registrar provides that option for free. At this point you can't do much about it since your phone number is already out. But you can ask cloudflare support if it's possible to add it now, so that people in the future can't get your personal information from whois. Also, next time look into porkbun or namecheap. They are pretty good, cheap and provides whois protection for free. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- supmu · 2023-10-17 16:25 Did you enable whois masking? I think there's a box you need to check in GDomains. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dontevendrivethatfar · 2023-10-17 16:27 I remember doing this in Google Domains but don't recall seeing the option in Cloudflare ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dontevendrivethatfar · 2023-10-17 16:32 Hmm, they have an article on WHOIS redaction but I'm not seeing how to get them to redact my info. I'll ask support. https://developers.cloudflare.com/registrar/account-options/whois- redaction/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KenadyDwag44 · 2023-10-17 16:38 Same thing happened to me. Forgot to get Whois protection for my domain and the calls flooded in. Nothing you can do about it really. You are in their system. One thing you can do that may help is put up a static webpage on your main domain. I just found a template online, filled it with garbage and host it. It helped a lot with the calls because they see it as you already have built a site. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pivotpixels · 2023-10-17 16:50 You can look at porkbun or namecheap, they usually give out a good domain for about a dollar for a year. Good for self-hosting stuff. I got some .xyz .site etc tlds for a dollar. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- mjh2901 · 2023-10-17 17:01 By domain its actually the people who control the domain .us domain information not cloudflare. Cloudflare has been my goto for a number of years they do a good job masking the information and once you set those settings they do not change them (I am looking at you GoDaddy). I will second Porkbuna nd Namecheap as good options. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- thil3000 · 2023-10-17 17:07 Why were they calling? To buy the domain, to build you a website? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- KenadyDwag44 · 2023-10-17 17:07 They want to build you a website for your business ---------------------------------------------------------------------- sysop073 · 2023-10-17 17:32 > I knew this information was public ...I don't understand the question then. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- aneesk071 · 2023-10-17 17:35 You haven't necessarily "screwed up," but there are some factors to consider when it comes to privacy and spam calls or messages after registering a domain. Here's a complete guide to address your concerns: **1. Public WHOIS Information:** When you register a domain, you are required to provide WHOIS information, including your name, address, email, and phone number. This information is often public and can be accessed by anyone through a WHOIS lookup. Different domain registrars have varying policies regarding WHOIS privacy. **2. Privacy Protection Services:** Some domain registrars, like Google Domains, offer WHOIS privacy protection services. These services replace your personal information in the WHOIS database with the contact details of a privacy service, safeguarding your privacy. **3. .US Domain Specifics:** As you mentioned, .US domains typically require more extensive public WHOIS information than generic top-level domains (TLDs). This is due to regulations set forth by the United States Department of Commerce. **4. Spam Calls and Messages:** Registering a domain, especially a .US domain, can make your contact information accessible to marketing agencies and spammers who scrape WHOIS databases for leads. The information you provided during registration, including the mention of your new domain, can attract these unsolicited calls and messages. **5. What You Can Do:** **Opt for Privacy Protection:** Consider domain registrars or services that offer WHOIS privacy protection. While .US domains may still require some public information, this service can mask your details. **Use a Dedicated Phone/Email:** If you anticipate spam, consider using a dedicated phone number and email address for domain registrations. This way, your personal contact information remains separate. **Be Cautious with .US Domains:** Understand the implications of registering a .US domain and the privacy trade-offs involved. If you value privacy, you may want to reconsider the choice of TLD. **Set Up Spam Filters:** Use spam filters on your email and phone to minimize the impact of spam messages and calls. Most email providers and smartphones offer built-in spam filtering. **Report Spam Calls**: If you receive spam calls, you can report them to your phone carrier, and they may offer options to block or filter such calls. **6. Learn from the Experience:** This situation serves as a learning experience regarding domain registration and privacy. Moving forward, consider the privacy implications of your domain choices and take steps to protect your personal information online. Remember that the specific impact can vary depending on the domain registrar, the domain extension, and how you've configured your WHOIS information. You can also reach out to your domain registrar's support for guidance on managing your WHOIS information and privacy options. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dontevendrivethatfar · 2023-10-17 17:42 The question is "Why did it happen this time and never happened before with other domains I purchased?" and the answer is "Because it was a .US domain and you didn't read the fine print." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- crazedizzled · 2023-10-17 17:46 That dollar is only an introductory price. xyz renews at like $12ish ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pivotpixels · 2023-10-17 17:49 That's why I said they are good for self-hosting. Mostly for you and your family, you can change the tld every year without much effort. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- crazedizzled · 2023-10-17 17:56 That seems pretty unnecessary to save one dollar a month ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 314z · 2023-10-17 17:57 For a meaningless domain with the least expensive renewal, get a numeric dot xyz. Be sure to verify the registrar has the correct renewal price, they should be around US $1 per year and pick a registrar that offers free whois privacy. Price applies to 6 7 8 9 digit numbers, they are showing current cost $1.22 at porkbun and 85 cents at namecheap They look totally spammy yet are great for this type of use [https://w ww.youtube.com/watch?v=0dV37t13CSw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d V37t13CSw) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MyButtholeIsTight · 2023-10-17 18:00 Iirc cloudflare does this by default ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dairy8469 · 2023-10-17 18:03 thanks chatgpt. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- odsquad64 · 2023-10-17 18:17 I've had a .us domain for years and I've never gotten any calls like this. No privacy protection or anything. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Scared_Bell3366 · 2023-10-17 18:37 Same here. I do get a few emails about renewing my domain whenever it gets close to expiring. Maybe a text message, but no phone calls. You might be able to put a google voice number in there. You won't have to worry about it being taken away for lack of use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EndlessHiway · 2023-10-17 19:04 Yeah it is part of their service by default. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EndlessHiway · 2023-10-17 19:06 It is for Cloudflare domains too and enabled by default. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Illuminated_Humanoid · 2023-10-17 19:18 Well that's interesting. In Canada, it's quote the opposite, where a .CA domain is private by default with no further privacy options needed. Also, I suggest [www.porkbun.com](https://www.porkbun.com) for general domain purchases, as they have the lowest prices and also include free privacy masking by default for all domains. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- speaksoftly_bigstick · 2023-10-17 19:24 Namecheap offers free domain security masking for life when registered through them. It becomes a total non-issue. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bubblegumpuma · 2023-10-17 19:28 I think the criteria for registering a .us domain is providing the address of a US resident or business, something like that. They don't seem to verify that strongly, and if you really want privacy it seems like you could do something like incorporate an LLC and use the address of a PO box or one of those companies that receives mail and acts as a business address, if you wanted to keep (more) private while staying in the bounds of the .us domain's criteria. Noticed this as well while registering that Namecheap didn't provide WHOIS privacy for .us due to that, and clarified with their support. I didn't care since it was a domain based on my real name anyhow, so it's not as if it was any information I'd be trying to be keeping private, but for a while I got a pretty strong deluge of spam calls and emails to 'build my website' like OP did, so it was a mistake in that respect... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-17 19:33 Lol, I did something similar. I put up a static webpage of a collage of horribly photoshopped cats along with some text that harkens back to 1990s Angelfire homepages. WALCOME TO MY WEBSIGHT, etc. It did not stop people from contacting me about paying them to build a website for me, but it did make the conversations a lot funnier when I would ask them if they've looked at my site, and then when they lied and said they have I would respond seriously that I will consider them for the job if they can send me a proposal that keeps all the elements of my current site, but modernizes and streamlines it. I have not gotten any proposals yet, but I look forward to the day I do. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Candle1ight · 2023-10-17 19:39 Yes. I accidentally signed up for a .us domain without knowing they can't use whois protection and have been getting spam calls ever since. It was like 5 years ago. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- dontevendrivethatfar · 2023-10-17 19:48 I contacted Cloudflare's support and had them remove the registration. I picked up a different domain and replaced it pretty easily. I'm sure I'm already on a lot of lists but I'm hoping that the WHOIS information will clear and it will slow down the spam. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Ttylery · 2023-10-17 19:53 Closer to $.92/mo saved. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joaopaolo7 · 2023-10-17 20:18 OMG you did! I made the same mistake and am still getting harassed all the time, 3 or 4 years later, even though I no longer have the domain. Wasn't .us, mine was .com I believe.... Anyway I learned my lesson, won't do that again. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- nosyrbllewe · 2023-10-17 21:28 Just get a .top domain from Porkbun. It is a gTLD and less than $5 per year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- VexingRaven · 2023-10-17 21:34 Isn't .xyz only $1 for the first year? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pivotpixels · 2023-10-17 21:38 Doesn't take more than 2 minutes to configure. You can definitely look at the tld list or something similar to find domains with cheap renewals but be careful about some of the registrars listed there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BobbyTables829 · 2023-10-17 21:53 "It needs to be able to run in Netscape, what's the problem?" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 314z · 2023-10-17 22:09 These are a specific set of numeric only XYZ with discount fixed pricing including renewals [https://gen.xyz/1111b](https://gen.xyz/1111b) working examples 314159 dot xyz 8675309 dot xyz ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-17 22:13 Oh man, this sends me back. I actually used to be a web designer back in the mid 2000s and one of our clients insisted that her site display properly on ALL VERSIONS of ALL BROWSERS. Netscape 1.0, Internet Explorer 1.0, AOL browser, Avant etc. She was adamant that her page had to be viewable to any person on any device, including flip phone browsers. I think the boss ended up telling her that we could do it for some extra billable hours, but we never actually tested on anything besides modern IE/Firefox. And she never actually noticed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ThePixlPirate · 2023-10-17 22:33 I had the same issue so I ended up changing all of my info for my domain to fake info and used a Google voice number ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GUY-WHICH-LAUGHS · 2023-10-17 22:34 lol sounds about right. Still happening at web shops to this day ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Candle1ight · 2023-10-17 22:35 Oh yeah, got rid of the damn thing within 30 minutes of registering but it was too late. I assume bots grab that info as soon as it's posted. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AmokinKS · 2023-10-17 22:35 I got a number from numberbarn.com just for domain reg, because otherwise you get flooded with calls the moment you reg a domain. I'll pay the $6/month to not deal with it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-17 22:44 There's a reason I'm not in that business anymore. Actually, that client in particular was a large part of that decision. She was a real treat to work with. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GUY-WHICH-LAUGHS · 2023-10-17 22:45 Good choice, there are a million more of them haha. I happily moved to an adjacent field a few years ago and I’ll never go back ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wdrussell1 · 2023-10-17 22:46 This is why I use Namecheap. It is free and automatic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-17 22:47 Oh, if you don't mind my asking what green pastures have you discovered? I've been feeling burnt out and thinking about branching out lately. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GUY-WHICH-LAUGHS · 2023-10-17 22:52 Went from web development at an agency to software engineering at product companies. It has its own downsides too but I’ve been so much happier ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-17 22:56 I was thinking about doing something along those lines, but I got nervous when everybody figured out that ChatGPT could write code. I'm worried I'll make a move to a job like that and then suddenly management will try to replace everybody with AI, haha. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GUY-WHICH-LAUGHS · 2023-10-17 23:07 It’s 5 to 10 years out before that happens imo. But when it does most jobs will be gone anyway ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-17 23:12 Oh boy. Guess I'd better figure out a personal business plan then. (Laughs in impending poverty) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AnApexBread · 2023-10-17 23:19 >Oh yeah, got rid of the damn thing within 30 minutes of registering but it was too late. I assume bots grab that info as soon as it's posted. Probably got pushed to the larger system. There's more than one entity that controls WHOIS information. Typically as soon as WHOIS information gets published it gets copied into a bunch of different registries so you have to contact them all and have them remove the information ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Toastytodd4113113 · 2023-10-17 23:33 Same bro.. I did the same.. and i've regretted it but the .com was taken. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Toastytodd4113113 · 2023-10-17 23:34 has nothing to do with cloudflare, has everything to do with a country based domain. they dont allow whois protection ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wdrussell1 · 2023-10-18 00:31 Fantastic. You read that the OP has a .us domain. Did you read the fact I was responding to a completely different person about their own issue related to them forgetting to enable Whois protection? Completely unrelated situations there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- digital-didgeridoo · 2023-10-18 00:40 > nothing to do with cloudflare Depending on their privacy policy, Cloudflare also might have shared it to 3rd parties. Possible, I'm not sure of their specific practices. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- samsquanch2000 · 2023-10-18 01:32 Yep ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jschwalbe · 2023-10-18 01:40 google voice is free ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Other-Lobster7983 · 2023-10-18 01:47 I really wish that when I registered my .us domain Google had warned me that I’d probs be getting tons of spam. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- e3m88 · 2023-10-18 02:17 I just pay for the anonymous service from my domain provider. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SeriouslyEngineer · 2023-10-18 02:59 Well that’s a relief. Good thing I did everything through Cloudflare. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- panelini · 2023-10-18 04:35 Be one step ahead, do some research and experiments, and use AI creatively to create something for your own startup, and/or make someone less knowledgeable hire you to do cool stuff for them *with* AI. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Exist4 · 2023-10-18 04:37 As someone that gets probably 50+ spam calls per week…. Bests advice is to use the RoboKiller app, honestly it works 99.999% of the time. Outside of that, change your phone number or simply do your best to ignore the spam as it “should” settle down after awhile as your lead becomes more stale however it will be sold and resold 100x times so it will probably never “stop” either. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BatmanTDK · 2023-10-18 05:34 FYI, namecheap sells every last bit of your information. That’s how they keep registration so cheap. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bencos18 · 2023-10-18 07:05 Chatgpt can't code amazingly well tbh. I've had it literally invite libraries to do stuff that don't exist ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Wdrussell1 · 2023-10-18 13:15 For this to be true, it would have to violate their own agreement and advertising. It would also violate the entire use of the Whois protection. So for multiple reasons this is simply not true. Now could they be selling certain types of data not in the Whois profile? Sure, but nothing related to Whois ---------------------------------------------------------------------- unodron · 2023-10-18 15:05 314159 dot xyz was taken in 2017 8675309 dot xyz was taken in 2020 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AmokinKS · 2023-10-18 16:53 you don't own the number, and when will it be just another killed or shuttered google service? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jschwalbe · 2023-10-18 17:15 Then.. spammers who get your google voice number from your domain registration won’t be able to call you? Oh no!! /s. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AmokinKS · 2023-10-18 17:38 I see what you did there. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- blumpkin · 2023-10-19 00:55 Good to know, sounds like I still have an advantage on the machines because I only occasionally invent libraries that don't exist. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- bencos18 · 2023-10-19 07:26 Lol. I hate that I've done that before ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BatmanTDK · 2023-11-14 04:13 Idk why this got down voted, this is 100% provably true. If you don’t trust me or all the other posts, go create a brand new email and phone number (e.g. google voice), register a domain at name cheap with using them as contact info, then sit back and watch.