# Registering a domain name only **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2002, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239 "2002-05-10T05:53:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/1 "2002-05-10T05:53:37Z")
I have a static IP address provided by my ISP. Are there any companies or services on the net that will allow me to register a domain name for my IP address, preferably at a low-to-nothing cost? I don’t want any hosting options, just the domain name bound to my IP address. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/2 "2002-05-10T05:58:17Z")
There are lots. I use [Verisign.com](http://Verisign.com) ---
**Author:** ![Neptune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@Neptune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neptune)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/3 "2002-05-10T06:04:49Z")
I should’ve said I use Network Solutions, [http://www.netsol.com](http://www.netsol.com) which was recently purchased by Verisign. There are many registars though that provide a variety of level of service for a lot of different prices. You might want to shop around. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Defense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Civil\_Defense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Defense)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/4 "2002-05-10T06:22:16Z")
I went to the Network Solutions site… honestly, I don’t have a clue what the difference between a name server and a host is, or anything like that. Basically, I’m running Apache (along with MySQL, Perl, and PHP) off of my computer, which has a static IP address. The only thing I want to pay for is to register [something.com](http://something.com) with my IP address… I’m not sure if that’s what Network Solutions is offering, and if it is, perhaps I’m confused about which option to choose. ---
**Author:** ![frejk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@frejk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frejk)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/5 "2002-05-10T06:38:14Z")
You should have a look ant [www.dyndns.org](http://www.dyndns.org) I’ve been using their service for some time now for my webserver. And it’s free! ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/6 "2002-05-10T08:21:07Z")
Please don’t use Verisign, they’re scum with really bad marketing methods, and they charge too much. You should be able to find someone to do it for $15 or so. They’re called registrars, and all you want is a domain name and DNS, unless you put a DNS server on your computer. ---
**Author:** ![Caldazar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Caldazar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caldazar)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/7 "2002-05-10T09:29:17Z")
The hosts/name servers that the registrar are requesting are the IP addresses of the DNS servers that are authoritative for your domain. When you go to register your domain name, you don’t specifically assign an IP address to your domain name. Instead you specify the DNS servers for your domain. Then, when somebody goes to your website, \<[www.yourdomain.com](http://www.yourdomain.com)\>, the user will look up the domain record for \<[yourdomain.com](http://yourdomain.com)\>, find out which DNS server to go to, and look up the IP address for \ on that DNS server for that domain. This means that you either have to run a DNS service on your machine as well or get someone to host your DNS records (known as zone records) on their DNS server. I believe most registrars require you to provide at least two DNS server IPs for your domain. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/8 "2002-05-10T17:54:36Z")
I second **frejk** , dyndns is free and fairly simple if you just want to be able to tell people a machine name to connect to rather than an IP address. I run a mail server and generate email addresses for various purposes (e.g., “spambox”, job related, etc.). Note that it would be like “[frejk.dyndns.org](http://frejk.dyndns.org)” (whatever prefix you choose, several choices for suffix also). Note that reverse mapping, ip2host, will still return your ISP’s name for your IP. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/9 "2002-05-10T20:07:15Z")
> [@](#): > > dyndns is free and fairly simple if you just want to be able to tell people a machine name to connect to rather than an IP address. . . .Note that it would be like “[frejk.dyndns.org](http://frejk.dyndns.org)” Note that this does _not_ give you your own domain name. They just add a record in their own DNS server that adds a machine name to _their_ domain name and maps it to your IP address. ftg explained this very well. I will add that you can register a domain at any registrar, and your ISP will probably sell you a DNS hosting service so your domain name will map to your IP address. However, these services are usually aimed at businesses and bundled with web hosting, so it probably won’t be as cheap as you want. Remember that you will also need to run a web server to host your own web site, and an SMTP server if you want email. Although all posters have given good information, I have a funny feeling that you want a domain name but you don’t know exactly what you want to do with it and therefore may find this information confusing. Let’s start from the beginning–why do you want to do with your domain name? ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2002, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/10 "2002-05-10T21:32:10Z")
If you have a credit card, then look into the European registrars like [Joker](http://www.joker.com/) and [Domain Discount 24](http://www.domaindiscount24.net). They charge a pittance (about 10 euros) compared to most North American registrars. More importantly, they don’t tend to play tricks with the registration agreement – companies like Network Solutions often have ridiculous clauses stating that they become the owner of the domain upon lapsed registration, etc. etc. etc. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/11 "2002-05-13T14:53:30Z")
Hmmmm. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by psychonaut \* > \*\*. . .they don’t tend to play tricks with the registration agreement – companies like Network Solutions often have ridiculous clauses stating that they become the owner of the domain upon lapsed registration, etc. etc. etc. \*\* Domain Discount 24’s [agreement](http://www.domaindiscount24.net/conditions.en.html#terms) says > [@](#): > > In the case of non payment [for renewal] the domain will be deleted. Well, gee. No tricks there. They just delete it. The VeriSign (no longer Network Solutions) [agreement](http://www.netsol.com/en_US/legal/static-service-agreement.jhtml), albeit long as a bed sheet, doesn’t seems to say anything about becoming the owner if registration lapses (gotta cite?). In fact, they avoid such things because ICANN forbids registrars from collecting names solely to resell them, since all registrars should have the same opportunity to sell a name given up by the owner. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2002, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/registering-a-domain-name-only/108239/12 "2002-05-13T16:16:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CookingWithGas \* > \*\*The VeriSign (no longer Network Solutions) [agreement](http://www.netsol.com/en_US/legal/static-service-agreement.jhtml), albeit long as a bed sheet, doesn’t seems to say anything about becoming the owner if registration lapses (gotta cite?). In fact, they avoid such things because ICANN forbids registrars from collecting names solely to resell them, since all registrars should have the same opportunity to sell a name given up by the owner. \*\* VeriSign gets $6 for every domain any registrar sells, so I don’t think there’d be a reason for them to hold on to expired domains. However, they have a history of very nasty market practices, so I wouldn’t be that surprised. If you don’t have a credit card, but you have a paypal account, you can use [www.serve-you.net](http://www.serve-you.net) . It’s $15 or so. Ben