Identity Protect Limited - Domain Name Question

Lynne66 · 3 October 2016 at 9:20PM

Back in 2007 I made a website with a registered domain name, subsequently set up a business and deleted the original website and all its content. The domain name was sold on in 2009 when I sold my business and I checked that when a google search was done the website was actually defunked.
quite by chance my son googled the old web address and the 2007 website has appeared exactly as it was still containing my personal details and that of other family members.
I cant remember the free web builder I used. I traced the owner of the domain name back to James Shutler and Identity protect Ltd.

How do I get this taken down and my details removed.? I dont care about the domain name it was bought by someone else in 2009 I just want the content gone.... how can all the contact reappear (minus all my pictures) and incidentally its reappears with a "sponsors" add for a company which looks decidedly dodgy.

bingo_bango · 4 October 2016 at 10:53AM

If someone else has been using the domain name since 2009, then what your son spotted was almost definitely a cached version of the site, probably on archive.org

The following text is from their FAQ which might give you a starting point. The first part can be ignored as you no longer control the domain.

How can I have my site's pages excluded from the Wayback Machine?

You can exclude your site from display in the Wayback Machine by placing a robots.txt file on your web server that is set to disallow User-Agent: ia_archiver. You can also send an email request for us to review to info@archive.org with the URL (web address) in the text of your message.

Good luck, and please post back to let us know if the request works.

absolutereturn · 26 February 2017 at 9:28PM

Noblelox wrote: »

Investigating shows that it has the same address and directors as 123reg, so it is definitely their company. As for them owning the domain, that sounds a bit suspect, as does the fact that the company only ever submits dormant company accounts to Companies House.

Personally, I get my domains off of 1and1.de, who are just as cheap, if not cheaper, and a whois lookup shows my name, but tells people that I have opted out from displaying my address, which is fine. If Harold Finch is super paranoid, that's up to him, but I am happy with my lookup details, and the ownership of my domains.

Le_Kirk wrote: »

Hmmm, signing up, picking up a two-year old post just to advertise a domain supplier. Sniff, sniff! Apologies if I'm wrong

Looks like you were right, as that's the only post they ever made.

I signed up years ago, but only picked up this year old post to say all the opposite, i.e. that I wouldn't recommend the company named above. I use them simply because they were recommended to me as a reasonably priced multiple domain hosting provider in 2001, when I registered my name as a domain with them. Transferring the domain would mean not having emails while it's all done.

I cancelled the Windows hosting contract I had with them since 2001 in Dec 2015, I lost access to the server and all my old emails, my email account was transferred to a cheaper account. 1and1 kept trying to charge me for the contract I cancelled, arguing I'd only cancelled the domain names. They don't allow you to pay your invoices individually, you need to store a payment method with them and they help themselves to your money, so I used a card with very little on it. After a flurry of emails, they passed the "debt" to Arvato, a DCA that hounded me by phone, text and email. After numerous complaints, the account was passed back to 1and1, who promptly proceeded to take the money as soon as I updated my payment details, last November. That was the last straw and I threatened to report them to TS if they didn't refund the money, which they did, but it took A WHOLE YEAR to deal with a simple contract cancellation!!! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Someone I know tried to use 1and1 domain privacy and their details were showing, 1and1 said it had been a "glitch" but that's enough for you privacy to be breached, they are most unreliable.

I have registered domains with 123Reg for 15 years with no troubles whatsoever, and have also used ID Protect with a couple of domains. Nothing wrong with their services, unlike the other one...

Sunnyspell · 16 March 2017 at 8:35PM

I wouldn't recommend using Identity Protect Limited to protect your identity, they received a complaint and just removed the privacy without notification, not until the privacy had been removed, leaving the registrant's details plain for all to see. Anybody can complain about a website. It is a common misconception to assume that, if you want to keep you ID private, you have something to hide. There may be a good reason for that, you may be unmasking a scammer, exposing a criminal, etc. You don't want them to know who you are and where you live, that could have very serious consequences, yet they take the word of whoever complains to them and just remove the privacy you paid for, without warning. It's not just disgraceful but downright dangerous in some cases.

I always assumed that they may reveal your identity if there was a court order, law enforcement action or a request from a government body like HMRC, but not that they would just remove the protection without any official involvement. They should be reported to Trading Standards for false advertising. It's not a matter of getting the £5 or so back, the consequences can be far reaching and you can't do anything about it.

Identity Protect Limited are part of 123Reg, same director, probably just set up to get more people to register .co.uk domains with them because not everyone was offering this service with .co.uk domains.

If you want to protect your identity, register a .com domain instead.

esuhl · 16 March 2017 at 9:32PM

I have a domain with 123-reg. It's registered in my name, but my contact details aren't shown with whois.

Unless you don't want your name appearing, I can't see why you'd need to use a privacy service.

Here's a section of the whois, as an example:

Registrant:
<<MY NAME>>

Registrant type:
UK Individual

Registrant's address:
The registrant is a non-trading individual who has opted to have their address omitted from the WHOIS service.

Data validation:
Nominet was able to match the registrant's name and address against a 3rd party data source on 10-Dec-2012

absolutereturn · 16 March 2017 at 9:37PM

esuhl wrote: »

I have a domain with 123-reg. It's registered in my name, but my contact details aren't shown with whois.

Unless you don't want your name appearing, I can't see why you'd need to use a privacy service.

Here's a section of the whois, as an example:

That is precisely the reason to use a privacy service, to avoid your name appearing. Until a few minutes ago, when I got the email alert that someone had replied to this thread and I came to read the reply, I had no idea that could happen. I would also have expected them never to remove the privacy, maybe disclose your details to the authorities if necessary but not to cancel the privacy without notice.

I wouldn't want 123 or Identity Protect Limited to do that with any of my domains, and I have quite a few with them.

simon_the_poet · 16 March 2017 at 9:47PM

So identity protect is just a waste of money ?

absolutereturn · 16 March 2017 at 10:01PM

simon_the_poet wrote: »

So identity protect is just a waste of money ?

Well, if they don't do what they promise, it certainly is.

When you register a domain with 123Reg they give you the option to add privacy and you pay extra for that. But there's more than just the money, if I pay for that option, I wouldn't want them to just remove it. :mad: I have been using 123Reg for years and have a number of domains where I paid for that option. I think I will transfer them to another registrar as soon as I can.

esuhl · 16 March 2017 at 10:04PM

absolutereturn wrote: »

That is precisely the reason to use a privacy service, to avoid your name appearing. Until a few minutes ago, when I got the email alert that someone had replied to this thread and I came to read the reply, I had no idea that could happen. I would also have expected them never to remove the privacy, maybe disclose your details to the authorities if necessary but not to cancel the privacy without notice.

I wouldn't want 123 or Identity Protect Limited to do that with any of my domains, and I have quite a few with them.

Huh? No -- this was how I set it up. I was fully aware that my name would be listed and my address and contact details omitted.

I never paid for or opted for any kind of privacy service. I just chose to register as an individual (as opposed to a business).

I can't remember whether registering as an individual automatically hides your contact details, or whether you choose to omit them.

But 123-Reg haven't removed or cancelled any privacy I had. It's always been this way. I've had the domains for about ten years, and I don't think they even offered privacy services back then.

simon_the_poet wrote: »

So identity protect is just a waste of money ?

Not if you're an individual who wants to hide his/her name as well as other details. Or if you're a shady business who doesn't want any comeback.

Maybe there are other valid business reasons; I don't know.

Sunnyspell · 16 March 2017 at 10:06PM

It was such a shock, I could not believe they would just make your details public and let everyone see them, it's not like they disclosed them to the police or a court. They removed the protection and the full name and address where showing on the WHOIS search, plain for all to see. Unbelievable!

Identity Protect Limited - Domain Name Question

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