I’m currently on the lookout for privacy-respecting domain registrars. What are you guys using and why?
Edit: I’ve registered my domain with Porkbun. I got a really cool one, it’s called reallyaweso.me!
Cloudflare for support (tooling), Njal.la for privacy (run by the pirate bay founder), porkbun for a happy medium and for the cool kids.
Porkbun because it was super easy, one of the cheapest, and has rest good guides for noobs for how to connect various hosting sites (like, using Google sites but owning the domain from porkbun)
The first registrar I used was DomainSite, around 20 years ago. They still exist but are called Name.com now. They’re a pretty good registrar.
I have most of my domains at Porkbun these days. They’re great too, and a bit cheaper.
In terms or privacy-respecting, most registrars will mask your WHOIS info for free, to comply with laws like GDPR. Never pay for “WHOIS privacy”.
Recently moved over to porkbun after dealing with a couple billing issues with namecheap and not getting the best customer service. Been pretty happy so far.
I’ve been using Porkbun for over 5 years and haven’t had any issues. I switched from a mix of Google Domains and Namecheap.
I moved all of my domains to Porkbun when Google Domains started to close down or become SquareSpace or whatever they were doing.
No complaints so far.
I’ve been with Porkbun for over a year now. No complaints.
Do you know if they support Dynamic DNS?
You can use something separate like Zoneedit for the DNS records
So I’m quite new to this, and searching around hasn’t been to clear… if I’m looking to have my own E-mail domain, do I buy a domain in addition to subscribing to an E-mail… service… thing?
Yes, you need to buy (register) a domain beforehand.
The e-mail provider of your choice that provides custom domains will ask you to- either point your domain to their nameservers (done from the domain provider’s panel)
- or insert/update some DNS records on your domain (either from your domain provider’s panel if it is supported or you can link your domain to another DNS service e.g. CloudFlare)
Thank you very much! I’ll look into snagging a domain and setting up like, Bluehost or Proton. I use Proton’s free tier now, but it looks like it’s about 3x as much for their good E-mail plan compared to Bluehost.
What kind of TLD did you buy? Did you choose a TLD that’s supported by the WHOIS privacy? I wanted to see if
alexpewmaster.dewas available, and it told me this:⚠️ PRIVACY WARNING ⚠️ This TLD does not allow WHOIS privacy but generally redacts your personal information. This means that your personal contact information will be sent to the registry but it should not be made public.Generally the country based TLDs have that problem. That isn’t unique to porkbun or .de
Porkbun works good for me
+1 porkbun. $1.60 for a .top whois privacy. 2FA with security key. Even let me host my own nameserver, so I can have separate internal and external views.
Any registrar allows you to host your own nameservers. You just point to your server from the registrar console.
Cloudflare does not.
Yeah, you have to pay for that feature on cloudflare but considering that they are so cheap I think it’s not so bad.
Every other registrar I have seen allows it though (they are usually more expensive since they earn a profit on registrations.)
porkbun > cloudflare
+1 for Porkbun. They are exceptionally unexceptional.
In the process of moving all my stuff to porkbun as well. It’s the best.
Ghandi.net because a paranoid DNS expert told me he uses it
Ghandi got sold to another company last year and they have started raising prices… I suggest you look into transfering your domain to somewhere else. I am trying porkbun now and it seems alright but they are others.
Hm I didn’t know. Thanks. I already use cloudflare for DNS so next cycle i might change the registrar too if it’s anything to save.
Chose Namecheap just for domain and later ionos and their mail service for my 2nd.
+1 for namecheap. I’m happy with them as a registrar. Their support has always been fast and helpful if I have an issue. I use CloudFlare for DNS as they were easier to setup something for dynamic IP.
Namecheap because cheap
Veebimajutus. They are a local registrar in my country and I like to support local businesses.
Porkbun
Not kosher and offered best price
Technically Cloudflare has the best prices
Cloudflare locks you in to using their DNS though. I’d rather pay a bit more to avoid vendor lock-in.
Oh boy, I was unaware of the fact that I can’t use my own nameservers with cloudflare. Definitely not going to recommend them anymore
Namecheap, cheap, easy to use, easy to setup DDNS, helpful support staff. I have heard horror stories of them selling popular domains out from under their owner but none were recent.
Same. I buy all my domains there. And in case someone needs a proper API and support for the dns challenge, host your DNS at DeSEC.
The thing that I don’t like is that lot of these DNS hosts don’t support using them for secondary DNS… It looks like deSEC is the same :/
I like using my own DNS server as a hidden primary because it lets me do bulk and programmatic updates more easily.
I’m using DNSMadeEasy for some of my important domains because they have the fastest servers, their service is really reliable, and major brands are using the same DNS servers so it seems like I can trust them. However, after being acquired by DigiCert, their prices went up over 10x… the $60/year plan I was on is now $675/year.
HE’s free DNS supports secondary DNS but their reliability isn’t great. DNSimple supports it but I’m over their limit of 100 records for some zones. Hexonet supports it but I couldn’t figure out how to get it working and neither could their support.
Never heard of DeSEC before, but it looks damn cool! Been looking to get away from CloudFlare.
What makes you want to move from Cloudflare? They are the least expensive option
Namecheap bc I typed where to buy cheap domains and that was the first one.
Njalla doesn’t seem to be a good option according to this comment on a privacy-focused forum.
Interestingly that is why I chose them like 5 years ago as I figured that is a plus as far as privacy is concerned. Having 1337 show up when performing a domain owner lookup instead of my name seem like a good thing and if I need it to be registered to me it’s easy enough to transfer.
I love the service though and brokep being involved makes them worth considering for anyone into privacy.
Njalla was founded and is ran by Peter Sundee, aka brokep, of Pirate Bay fame… If there’s anyone you can trust …
Cloudflare cause they already had my DNS and google domains was on its way to the google graveyard. Not sure how privacy respecting they are but they do offer some kind of partial whois redaction. Surely better than google though?
Internet.bs because it’s cheap and had a cctld I wanted
