Dot Cat Domains Now Come With Better Privacy

If you’re a private individual and are using your domain name for your private personal use (ie. not for any form of business or commercial purpose) then you might like a bit of privacy.

We get that.

That’s why we launched our whois privacy service last year so that you can get a bit more “protection”.

We’re delighted to announce that the .cat domain registry has modified their whois policy so that if you’re a private person (or cat) then your details are no longer visible. You can now register .cat domain names via Blacknight and not share your details!

For example, Squishy has his website and his Facebook page (he’s a bit of a personality!) so of course he has a domain:

squishy.cat (available in English and Catalan)

The whois is now protected in compliance with the new policy:

whois squishy.cat
% puntCAT Whois Server Copyright (C) 2007 Fundacio puntCAT
%
% NOTICE: Access to puntCAT Whois information is provided to assist in
% determining the contents of an object name registration record in the
% puntCAT database. The data in this record is provided by puntCAT for
% informational purposes only, and puntCAT does not guarantee its
% accuracy. This service is intended only for query-based access. You
% agree that you will use this data only for lawful purposes and that,
% under no circumstances will you use this data to: (a) allow, enable,
% or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail, telephone or
% facsimile of unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations; or
% (b) enable automated, electronic processes that send queries or data
% to the systems of puntCAT or registry operators, except as reasonably
% necessary to register object names or modify existing registrations.
% All rights reserved. puntCAT reserves the right to modify these terms at
% any time. By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy.
%
% This domain has chosen privacy settings according to the European
% data protection framework provisions.
%
% Should you need to contact the registrant, please see
% http://www.domini.cat/contact-registrant
%
% For law enforcement and trademark protection purposes, see
% http://www.domini.cat/whois-access
%
% In case of technical problems, please see
% http://www.domini.cat/report-problem
%
Domain ID: REG-D1051688
Domain Name: squishy.cat
Domain Name ACE: squishy.cat
Domain Language: ca
Registrar ID: R-2029 (Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd)
Created On: 2012-07-04 21:45:27 GMT
Last Updated On: 2013-01-09 16:45:43 GMT
Expiration Date: 2013-07-04 21:45:27 GMT
Maintainer: http://www.blacknight.com
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Name Server: ns2.blacknight.com
Name Server ACE: ns2.blacknight.com
Name Server: ns1.blacknight.com
Name Server ACE: ns1.blacknight.com

Compare this to blacknight.cat (which is ours – obviously!):

whois blacknight.cat
% puntCAT Whois Server Copyright (C) 2007 Fundacio puntCAT
%
% NOTICE: Access to puntCAT Whois information is provided to assist in
% determining the contents of an object name registration record in the
% puntCAT database. The data in this record is provided by puntCAT for
% informational purposes only, and puntCAT does not guarantee its
% accuracy. This service is intended only for query-based access. You
% agree that you will use this data only for lawful purposes and that,
% under no circumstances will you use this data to: (a) allow, enable,
% or otherwise support the transmission by e-mail, telephone or
% facsimile of unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations; or
% (b) enable automated, electronic processes that send queries or data
% to the systems of puntCAT or registry operators, except as reasonably
% necessary to register object names or modify existing registrations.
% All rights reserved. puntCAT reserves the right to modify these terms at
% any time. By submitting this query, you agree to abide by this policy.
%
Domain ID: REG-D704049
Domain Name: blacknight.cat
Domain Name ACE: blacknight.cat
Domain Language: ca
Registrar ID: R-2029 (Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd)
Created On: 2010-08-06 10:56:42 GMT
Last Updated On: 2012-07-16 00:43:29 GMT
Expiration Date: 2013-08-06 10:56:42 GMT
Maintainer: http://www.blacknight.com
Status: clientTransferProhibited
Registrant ID: BK-23721
Registrant Name: Michele Neylon
Registrant Organization:
Registrant Street: Unit12a Barrowside Business Park
Registrant Street: Sleaty Road
Registrant City: Carlow
Registrant State/Province: Co. Carlow
Registrant Postal Code: 00000
Registrant Country: IE
Registrant Phone: +353.599183072
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax: +353.599164239
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: management@blacknight.com
Admin ID: BK-23721
Admin Name: Michele Neylon
Admin Organization:
Admin Street: Unit12a Barrowside Business Park
Admin Street: Sleaty Road
Admin City: Carlow
Admin State/Province: Co. Carlow
Admin Postal Code: 00000
Admin Country: IE
Admin Phone: +353.599183072
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax: +353.599164239
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: management@blacknight.com
Tech ID: BK-2
Tech Name: Blacknight Hostmaster
Tech Organization: Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd.
Tech Street: Unit 12a, Barrowside Business Park
Tech Street: Sleaty Road
Tech City: Graiguecullen
Tech State/Province: Co. Carlow
Tech Postal Code: 00000
Tech Country: IE
Tech Phone: +353.599183072
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax: +353.599164239
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: sales@blacknight.com
Billing ID: BK-1
Billing Name: Blacknight Accounts
Billing Organization: Blacknight Internet Solutions Ltd.
Billing Street: Unit 12a, Barrowside Business Park
Billing Street: Sleaty Road
Billing City: Graiguecullen
Billing State/Province: Co. Carlow
Billing Postal Code: 00000
Billing Country: IE
Billing Phone: +353.599183072
Billing Phone Ext:
Billing Fax: +353.599164239
Billing Fax Ext:
Billing Email: accounts@blacknight.com
Name Server: ns2.blacknight.com
Name Server ACE: ns2.blacknight.com
Name Server: ns1.blacknight.com
Name Server ACE: ns1.blacknight.com

 

The new policy came into play earlier this week and we’ve pro-actively updated the whois for our “personal” clients.

If you want to learn more about the new policy for whois in .cat here’s their press release:

Sant Cugat del Vallès, January 10th 2013
.cat domain protects personal data of their registrants
After years of negotiations between Fundació puntCAT and ICANN, .cat is
one of the first TLDs in the world to offer the maximum level of privacy to
registrants who use their domains for private purposes.
.cat registrars have implemented this advanced service and from January
7th they offer it to the 61.750 current registered .cat and to any new .cat
Up until January 7th, any .cat domain name registrant had his/her personal data
available to the general public via whois, the informative tool that allows checking
the contact information associated to a given domain, such as the name and
surnames of its registrant and his postal or e-mail address. ICANN, the entity that
regulates the use of Internet domains, requires the public availability of this data.
Therefore, all generic domains have to offer the whole set of data through the whois
service. However, Fundació puntCAT has worked since its inception to offer more
privacy to private individuals. Since this week, individuals making a private use of
their .cat can choose non disclosure of the data associated to the domain name.
.cat leading the advancement of the domain name industry
Fundació puntCAT has secured a reputation as industry leader through its constant
advancement in the latest technological innovations. .cat now offers with this policy
change a pioneer service to the community. The improvement in the privacy settings
in the whois service is the most privacy friendly and registrant oriented within the
generic TLDs. A model that has already raised great expectations among other
operators.
Fundació puntCAT offers this new added-value service in full alignment with the
highest degree of respect to the European and Spanish data protection regulations.
Thanks to the collaboration of .cat domains’ registrars, this improvement is offered
by default and for free in the .cat domain names registration process
.cat domains’ registrars offering this service.
Legacy .cat domain names registered before the effective implementation of this
service can also activate the protection of their personal data, as according to the
new policy. In order to do so, registrants must activate the new settings from the
control panel of their registrar.

We hope to be able to catch up with Nacho Amadoz from .cat on the technology.ie podcast very soon to talk more about this – it’s wonderful news for everyone!

Related articles

• Apocalypse Tech [Podcast #49] (technology.ie)
• Irish registrar introduces a Domain Lookup Service that is truly for everyone (blacknight.com)
• Going Back [Podcast #53] (technology.ie)
• Blacknight Encourage Customers to Upgrade Their Digital Lives in The New Year (blacknight.com)
• Link Loss [Podcast #54] (technology.ie)