No one likes to make public personal details like their name, address and telephone number, especially in such an easily accessible forum as the internet. Yet registering a domain name means giving up just these details to the glaringly public Whois database, a vast list which contains the records of who owns each domain name.

Fear of spam, high principles, and the desire to protect personal safety and property are all driving forces behind the increasing number of domain registrants who do not disclose real or complete details. Many are concerned that spammers harvest the Whois database for email and postal addresses to flood with junk mail. Others, especially those who run websites of a sensitive nature, such as rape crisis sites, are concerned about their own safety and privacy, as well as that of their colleagues, their families and their property. A significant number just don't wish to post their details publicly as a matter of principle. Unfortunately, the Whois database is needed, proponents argue, because criminal activity on the net is prolific, and the database can help to trace fraudsters and other scammers. The vast majority of cases of incorrect or incomplete data are perpetrated by those who intend to use their newly-registered Domain Names for nefarious purposes.

If you don't give correct details when you register your domain name, you can risk losing your domain. You can use a business address or a PO Box, or else use a proxy service (with great caution – make sure you will be the owner of the domain and not the proxy). You could also open an email account especially for the purposes of registering your domain name, so that spam will be kept out of your usual email accounts. The Google Mail service in particular has very good spam filters. You need to provide a valid email address because otherwise you will not be notified of domain expiry or receive billing information.

You will also notice that when you register a Domain Name, you can give a billing address, technical address and owner's address. If you are registering a domain name for business use, you can put the appropriate departments' addresses and email addresses in these fields, which will make the administration of your account easier.

Make sure that you, and not the name of your registrar, are registered as the domain owner, and that your address is registered as the domain owner's address. This provides security so that if your domain registrar goes bust, you will be able to claim the domain name as your own.

By Natalie Catchpole