What domain name services do you provide?

What is a domain name?

How long can a domain name be?

What characters can be in a domain name?

Why do I need a domain name?

How do I register (book) a domain name?

How do I search for a domain name?

Will search engines find my domain name?

How do I choose the right domain name?

What are the best kinds of domain names?

How do I transfer a domain name?

What is a top level domain?

Can I get a free domain name?

How do I get an appraisal of my domain name?

What is a domain name server?

What is dynamic DNS?

What is a root server?

How do I buy a domain name?

Can I get help with the domain name registration process?

How do I sell a domain name?

What is domain name hosting?

What is the domain name system?

How do I get a cheap domain name?

How do I do a lookup of domain names?

What is domain name parking?

How do I renew my domain name?

Can  I purchase  a domain at an auction?

Is there a web developer discount for Domain Names?

What is the dispute mechanism for domain names?

What is cybersquatting?

What are the legal requirements to get a Domain Name?

Am I infringing on a trademark or copyright?

What are internationalized Domain Names?

What is Domain Locking?

Can I register a Domain name and use my free members space at my ISP?

Registration Tips

Domain Transfer Tips

The only valid characters for a domain name are letters, numbers and a hyphen "-". Other special characters like the underscore "_" or an exclamation mark "!" are NOT permitted. The www is not part of the actual domain name and is just a standard web prefix. Domains may not start with a -.

Why do I need a domain name?

Domain names are allocated by the InterNIC on a first-come, first-served basis. Once a domain name has been registered, it is no longer available. The most popular and easily-remembered domain names are being reserved daily, at the rate of one domain name every 5 seconds!

At that rate, in the near future, only obscure domain names will be available to the general public.

As long as you have an Internet service provider for your website,a domain name is not absolutely required. However, a good domain name creates inherent value for your organization. Domain names that reflect the name of your organization (i.e. sony.com, intel.com, ford.com) are an invaluable asset to your company.

Wouldn't your rather your customers find you on the internet like this?

instead of like this?

In some ways, a domain name is similar to a customized license plate - very easy to remember. A domain name allows you to receive e-mail at a customized e-mail address. With a domain name, your email can look like this:

instead of like this

As the Internet grows and domain names become more scarce, premiums for existing domain names will increase significantly. (the preceding sentence dates back to about 3 years ago when it looked like domain names would forever spiral up in price. The reality has been that with the increase in top level domains extension and country code specific extensions, the value of a specific domain name has greatly lessened)

Why do I need one right now?

• to avoid costs of address changes later on.
• to avoid somebody else from registering the name you want.
• to maximize the chances of a successful internet presence.
• Eventually, the .com's will be all taken up! Don't be left behind -- the faster you act, the better your chances for getting the domain name you want. Once a domain name is taken, you would have to track down the owner to see if they are willing to sell it.

What if I'm not a business?
Domain names aren't just for businesses. People everywhere are securing domain names for personal or group use.

Depending on the type of domain you are searching for (which is governed by the ending i.e. .com or .ca) you can either search from our Whois page  or you can access whois information from a variety of registrars that are available on the internet.

Just having a domain name isn't enough to get found. The Internet is a really big place.  The common ways of getting found are through the major search engines, by links from another popular web site, by banner advertising, by traditional advertising such as print, radio and television. There are also other ways of promoting your site, for instance making sure every bit of stationary leaving your office contains your web address, or plastering it all over your vehicles.  Search engine submission is a very large topic in of itself and we provide information on this to our customers.

I think that step one in choosing the right domain name is to be very sure of what image you are trying to portray.  For instance .ca domains imply Canadian companies and indeed there are some rules on who can get a .ca name.  Next the usual case is for the domain name to somehow tie into your business or your topic that will be covered by the web site.  Generally it is a really good idea to avoid names that include trademarks of other companies as this can only lead to miserable legal issues. Now for example: if you were into snowmobiles and located in Alberta a fairly good choice would be www.albertasnowmobiles.ca . Try to avoid dashes or incorrectly spelled names (i.e. phast.ca compared to fast.ca).  In the end it boils down to personal choice but remember that the purpose of a domain name is to make it easy for others to remember (thus the shorter the better).

The best is still .com but since this namespace is rapidly filling up, most people must look elsewhere for reasonable domain names.  Relief has arrived  in the .biz and .info namespace, as well as the wide assortment of country specific domain names.  Also it is our experience that on a local basis people have absolutely no trouble with country specific names such as .ca. In fact a great percentage of surfers will take a common phrase and append the .ca to it when typing it into a browser. For example, if you wanted to reach the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft, it would be natural to type in Microsoft.ca.

Generally speaking a transfer needs to be initiated by the Registrar that the name is being transferred to.  You do not need to transfer your domain name to Chinook Webs in order to use our hosting service, all that is required in that case is that the DNS is re-pointed to our name servers.  If you would like to transfer your domain names to our service, please email us.

A top level domain (TLD) is the suffix that is attached to the end of a domain name. For instance, in the domain name chinook-computers.com, ".com" is the TLD.
There are two types of top-level domains: global and country code. Global Top Level Domains (gTLD) were created to be used by the Internet public, while country code Top Level Domains (ccTLD) were created to be used by each individual country, as they deem necessary.

The global Top Level Domains are as follows:

.com
.net
.org (usually organizations)
.edu (universities and educational institutions)
.mil (military)
.gov (federal, state, local government)
.tv (NEW TLD)
.cc
.Of course this now changing as we get global TLD's that are purpose specific. For instance .museum for museums and .pro for accredited professionals.

Is there a free lunch, of course not. Anyways for sure not from us. Some web hosting companies use the Free Domain Name as a lure to get you to host with them. In that case the domain name is either not transferable or is in fact included in the web hosting price

An appraisal of a domain name is a guess, opinion or estimate. A domain name is only worth as much as what someone is willing to pay for it. If you want to get an appraisal, go to any search engine and type in domain appraisal you are sure to get a large list of companies eager to do this for you. If I were in the market for a domain appraisal, I would certainly pick one that charges for the service. (remember there is no free lunch).

Here is an intermediately technical answer:
...The DNS directory service consists of DNS data, DNS servers, and Internet protocols for fetching data from the servers. The billions of resource records in the DNS directory are split into millions of files called zones. Zones are kept on authoritative servers distributed all over the Internet, which answer queries according to the DNS network protocols. In contrast, caching servers simply query the authoritative servers and cache any replies. Most servers are authoritative for some zones and perform a caching function for all other DNS information. Most DNS servers are authoritative for just a few zones, but larger servers are authoritative for tens of thousands of zones. .....

For a simpler answer: In order for your site visitors to find your web site there must be a map of how www.yourdomain.com  gets translated into something the browser (ie Internet explorer or Netscape) understands (IP addresses). DNS Servers are specialty servers that provide the mappings for domains.  Most ISP's will run at least two DNS servers to be the "authority" for the web sites that they host.  A master list is maintained on what is called a root server.  These root servers know how to contact the "authoritative" servers (for instance ours) and get information on where to send  browser requests.

This is really a two parter, dynamic DNS out on the web has come to mean situations where the host machine ( the one you are trying to connect to) doesn't  have a static (always the same) routable (valid for the Internet) IP address but rather gets a different one each time it boots up or the service changes ( this is called DHCP - Dynamic Host Control Protocol).

Dynamic DNS insofar as Windows 2000 Server's DNS service is concerned is it's ability to largely replace WINS as the main method of host recognition on a network. What this means is that every Dynamic DNS aware computer will automatically register itself with the DNS services and then can easily be found (resolved) by name rather than by IP address.

Think of the internet as a complex multi-dimensional map. Every map has to have an index which is the starting point to find places that are on the map.   The root servers perform this type of function.  When you request a page at chinookwebs.com a root server told your isp's DNS server where to find another DNS server that is authoritative for chinookwebs.com

The usual case for purchasing a domain name is through a registrar such as ourselves. There is a great deal of competition for registering domain names but we add the personal attention to detail and our support when it comes to domain name questions is unparalled.

If we are doing a transfer or a new domain or a renewal for you, then by all means we will go the extra mile and then some. Service is our main business. Feel free to email us.

A domain name should be treated like any other kind of property. It can be sold through a broker or privately. A lot of people put them up for auction at places like Ebay. There are a plethora of web sites that will advertise your domain for sale. Enter domains for sale in any search engine.

Domain name hosting is very basically the service of hosting your web site but using your domain e.g. www.chinookwebs.com is one of our domains.  This is different than "acmecorp.chinookwebs.com" which would be a subdomain of our domain.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a distributed Internet directory service. DNS is used mostly to translate (map) between domain names and IP addresses, and to control Internet email delivery ( MX records). A close example  of how the email delivery is affected by DNS would be how air traffic controller route planes. Most Internet services rely on DNS to work, and if DNS fails, web sites cannot be located and email delivery backs up  or fails.

The DNS directory service consists of DNS data, DNS servers, and Internet protocols for fetching data from the servers. The billions of resource records in the DNS directory are split into millions of files called zones (for example chinook-computers.com would be a zone file on a DNS server). Zones are kept on authoritative servers distributed all over the Internet, which answer queries according to the DNS network protocols. In contrast, caching servers simply query the authoritative servers and cache any replies. Most servers are authoritative for some zones and perform a caching function for all other DNS information. Most DNS servers are authoritative for just a few zones (typically run by ISP 's), but larger servers are authoritative for tens of thousands of zones (large ISP's or specialized service providers).

Out on the internet there are plenty of companies that specialize in low cost domain registrations. Simply type in "domain registration" into any search engine. If you are completely conversant in the intricacies of Domain  Names then this is probably a good way to go.  By contrast using our registration services we will track the process and assist in troubleshooting any problems encountered.

The most common way to do a domain lookup is to use a "whois" server.  A whois server will return information about domain  names that are already taken, thus if no information is returned the desired domain name is probably available.  It isn't a certainty because whois information is often at least 24 hours old or longer. Depending on the domain extension (.com or .ca etc) you wish to use, you may need to use different whois servers. Our site allows lookups on most domain extensions..  Other country specific whois information may be obtained from country based top level authorities.

In order to register a domain name for your use it must have at least two nameservers who are willing to respond for it when the domain is browsed. When your domain is used for email or any other purpose, these nameservers are usually provided by your ISP as part of your service fee. Parking implies that you do not plan to use your domain right away. However, you still need to have nameservers willing to respond for the domain.

Domain names are renewed through the services of a registrar or agent of a registrar. Chinook Webs can renew most domain names in North America.  Outside of North America domain names that are country specific should be renewed by a local registrar that can better service local needs.

Yes, EBAY and other auction web sites often have domain names for sale. Also there are several major domain name brokerages. My caution on this would be to make sure that the seller truly owns the domain name and is able to complete the transfer to you. In the past this has involved signed affadavits that need to be faxed in along with witness signatures and proof of identity.

No, we only offer Domain Names at a reduced rate with web hosting or from time to time when we are running a promotion.

Dispute mechanisms and methods depend on the designated registry operator ( the group or company that has ultimate authority for a domain name extension). For instance in Canada the ca domain name extension is administered by CIRA (Canadian Internet Registration Authority).  To list all the administrative bodies responsible for all the domain name extensions would be too onerous here plus it changes quite often.

Cybersquatting is the practice of purchasing desirable domain names or domain names that are trademarks in the hopes of selling them for a high profit.

The legal requirements vary between the different registration authorities. For example, the .ca name requires either Canadian citizenship or that you are a permanent resident of Canada. There are other categories in the Canadian namespace (ie government , corporations etc) but the two mentioned are probably the most common. In the USA, .com, .net, .org are available to anyone on the globe but .us is restricted to Americans.

The definitive answer is maybe!  When it comes to large corporations or well known names then it is easy to see the where the infringement is but on lesser terms it really will depend on whether or not a trademark /copyright holder will either defend their mark  or even police it.  Both Canada and the United States of America have publicly searchable databases of trademark and copyright information.

Internationalized domain names are domain names represented by native language characters.  The native language domain name will be followed by .com, .net or .org (for example: com).

Domain locking prevents the end user (owner) from making changes to important Domain information including name server information. This security measure came about because of some unethical practices (slamming etc).  Your registrar (including us) must unlock a domain at your request.

Absolutely, we can create a web redirection that points to personal space  ( for example Shaw or Rogers members pages or any other ISP), we do however charge a $35.00/yr fee for "Domain Redirection".