The dot com glamour may have faded, but the need for a domain name remains. Businesses still make good use of the web, and image online can mean everything. Today I share part of a Special Report by BetterWhois.com on protecting your domain name and your reputation from cybersquatters.

   According to the report "anyone with $35 can register a variation of your web site name and set up shop in about five minutes." No ownership checks or trademark searches are done at the time of registration. There is no oversight of the process in a meaningful way and even the most obviously malicious names are approved with a click of the mouse. Most registration services are automated.

   Cybersquatting was originally used to describe the act of registering another's trademarked name. But today the term is commonly used to describe many different forms of bad faith registrations. Cybersquatting, the act of registering a name in bad faith, has become one of the major problems facing businesses on the Internet.

   Since URLs can be hard to remember or deduce, your competitor may be be able to lure away both existing customers and new prospects by setting up a web site using a variation of your domain name.

   Other domain name scams include "The Porn Funnel" where a variation of a domain name is used to 'funnel' traffic into a pornographic web site. WhiteHouse.com is a good example of how customers who make an honest mistake will be transported to a pornographic web page. (Try whitehouse.gov for different sins.) It seems adult web sites will not hesitate to use almost any method to attract new visitors. If one of these 'porn pirates' registers a variation of your domain name,

   Another favorite is the "Employee Hate Site." A disgruntled employee or burned customer reserves a variation of a company name to post complaints, company secrets or gripes. "Sucks" sites have become a virtual internet phenomenon.

   Savvy web users make it a habit to see if a company 'sucks' web site exists before buying a product on-line. For example, if John is about to buy a new pool table from 'coolpooltable.com', he first checks to see if 'coolpooltablesucks.com' exists and contains any negative feedback.

   Someone reserves a variation of a company name and then attempts to sell it back to you for an outrageous amount. Fear of being victimized by the above scenarios causes many companies to spend thousands to recover names that were overlooked when they initially registered their domain name.

   The report further asks "Can this really happen? Is this legal?"

   "Yes, it can and does happen everyday. Is it legal? Depending on the situation, site owners may have legal recourse (e.g. trademark infringement lawsuits or arbitration). However, even when a cybersquatter is breaking the law, it can be time-consuming and expensive for a site owner to win a legal judgment, especially if the cybersquatter is located in a different country. In some circumstances, it is possible to reclaim names through domain arbitration, however this can cost thousands and can take many months. Full blown domain related law suits can take years and cost tens of thousands of dollars."

   The report says that preventative medicine is the best way to protect yourself from cybersquatters. In addition to securing the .COM version of your domain name, register the .NET .BIZ .ORG and .INFO variations. If your domain name has more than one word in it, register it both with and without a dash. (e.g. usair.com and us-air.com) Also, if your name lends itself to it, register its singular and plural versions. (e.g. fordtruck.com and fordtrucks.com)

   And dont forget to register the juvenile but damaging "sucks" variation.