Old Moniker vs New Moniker

[Bloom]

Hi all,

Just want to know your honest opinion about Moniker (moniker-dot-com) at present.

We should not forget that Moniker used to be one of the BEST registrars with a very prompt support service. You could even send a message to Monte and get a reply to it, no matter what you problem was. Things at Moniker has changed a lot now compared to those days.

But do you see any change in their support system today? Do you guys get replies to your tickets in time?

Hoping to hear honest opinions as this could change my future registrations with them and using their marketplace.

Thank you in Advance.

P.S. If you do not want to say anything in public, DO PLEASE send me pm.

 

[tekz999]

I have been very happy with snapnames and domainsponsor. They are topnotch. Period.

I prefer godaddy over moniker for keeping domains though.

 

[BELLC1]

I haven't had any major issues with support for domains with Moniker. However, like many besides me have stated, Moniker really appears to be more of an auction service now than a registrar, probably directly related to the Oversee takeover. Except for their prices on original .NET names, I've found no reason to use Moniker as a Registrar over other registrars.

 

[DNWizardX9]

Never had any problems with them

 

[John Mauriello]

Moniker is very dedicated to our Registrar business and that has not changed with the merger with Oversee.net. Moniker since the very beginning has been a leader as the Most Secure Registrar and in Domain sales and brokerage services. Moniker is still the only registrar to never lose a domain due to theft and still has the highest renewal and retention rates, the best Bull management tools, and a dedicated Account Reps. All our services are geared towards treating a Domain name as a real Asset... just like real estate. Moniker will not seize control of your domains based on legal threats and we do not treat domains as loss leaders to try to increase the other parts of our business. Treating the domain as an asset is our main business. That's why we offer the only "true" Escrow for domains, the only appraisal service you can use as collateral for a loan (that is also IRS approved), as well as numerous ways to help our clients increase the value of their domain portfolios. The domain Live auction platform was started by Moniker as an enhancement to help our clients to buy and sell more domains. Prior to the auction we were already selling the vast majority of the highest price names on the web. We will continue to offer the most innovative services to help our clients be more aligned with us by growing the value of their portfolios, acquiring and selling, and protecting their valuable names.

If you need assistance please contact me personally and we will definitely take care of you.


Regards,
John Mauriello
[email protected]
954-861-3536
800-688-6311 Ext. 3536
FAX: 954-984-0209
ICQ: 341620056 AIM: monikermaurie
MSN: [email protected]

 

[Sonny Banks]

Moniker is the best place to keep high quality domains.

 

[BELLC1]

Moniker is still the only registrar to never lose a domain due to theft ....

If I recall, Quantas Airlines doesn't advertise its perfect safety record either because everyone figures they would be a target and an accident waiting to happen.

 

[katherine]

IMO security is overrated at Moniker:

• no SSL login
• no notification of failed login attempts - this feature is available with Enom/Namecheap.

I wonder if they even audit and lock the IP for a while after a few failed attempts.

Just tried the password reminder feature: you actually get your current password to your E-mail. Which means it is stored in clear in the DB and not hashed.

As for the rest I don't use them a lot so I won't comment much on the control panel etc which IMO is OK but not too great.

Seriously they have a lot to learn from other registrars (Fabulous, Switch.ch etc).

 

[PRED]

IMO security is overrated at Moniker:

• no SSL login
• no notification of failed login attempts - this feature is available with Enom/Namecheap.

I wonder if they even audit and lock the IP for a while after a few failed attempts.

Just tried the password reminder feature: you actually get your current password to your E-mail. Which means it is stored in clear in the DB and not hashed.

As for the rest I don't use them a lot so I won't comment much on the control panel etc which IMO is OK but not too great.

Seriously they have a lot to learn from other registrars (Fabulous, Switch.ch etc).

i agree with this
i used to be one of Monikers biggest fans in past, but is waneing

their biggest credit i think is they've never lost a name, they aleways get it back and i think Monte is about as connected and respected as they come in terms of him personally dealing with other registrars , institutions etc to resolve probs. my only worry is how much day to day stuff Monte deals with, with Moniker now

the support side is good, very happy with their staff, but tbh the reps are useless, i wait weeks to hear back and usually have to send a few emails. not good. in fact f*cking hopeless

 

[John Mauriello]

No SSL login? No Failed login notification? Don't know which site your logging into but its def not Moniker.com What can we learn about security from the other registrars that lose names? If we didn't do all the things we do to protect names, we would have had thefts like everyone else

 

[katherine]

No SSL login?

Actually you are right on this one. I get redirected to the SSL pages AFTER logging in.

No Failed login notification? Don't know which site your logging into but its def not Moniker.com

If attempt to log in using an incorrect password I don't get any notification. Am I supposed to receive one ? This would be a good thing.

What can we learn about security from the other registrars that lose names? If we didn't do all the things we do to protect names, we would have had thefts like everyone else

Tell me about the extra things. How do you prevent domain thefts when the owner E-mail/passwords have been compromised ?
What exactly makes you more secure ?
I'm pretty sure there is room for improvement. Hash the passwords.

 

[John Mauriello]

The security platform is proprietary and not for public discussion. Revealing the"extra " things we do is not something we want hijackers to see. We are notified when there are failed login attempts and track that info. Since it happens all the time even by the legitimate owners entering the wrong passwords in error, there is no reason to put accounts in some heightened state of alert for no reason. Thank you for your feedback.

 

[Bloom]

Well, your automated services system works fine (it even traces unattended tickets automatically and sends you a reminder). No doubt about that. But things have definitely changed when it comes to "human" services in your support system. Tickets go unattended for weeks. Your Reps seem to be ignoring email sent by clients (and also the emails sent and forwarded by your other departments, internally, on behalf of your clients). And I sent you an email regarding an unresolved ticket. That was yesterday (20th) afternoon. Hoping to receive a reply at least today (21st). Please check you mail (including junk mail folder). I know you should receive this email as your "comments department" receives my email with out any delay.

I started this thread with an honest intention to get things moving at Moniker (just like what Moniker used to be). I found sending emails is useless. People at Moniker (I am talking about Moniker at present, NOT before) seem to be ignoring email from clients. The only place from where you can get a reply is your "comments depatment" (comments-at-moniker.com). "Comments department" responds within minutes. Unfortunately they are unable to help you directly (this is what they say).

I hope genuine comments by others will help to improve the present support system. Because you have a superb automated system, of course with lot of security features, for domain registrations and related services. You must bring the OLD support system back in place. Then your clients will no longer post threads like this. A person like me would have never posted a thread like this if Moniker people communicate with us through tickets and email. Now I find that this (though forums) is the quickest way to communicate with Moniker, at least to wake up someone at Moniker.

Regards

P.S. my last post about Moniker was on 05-18-2006, 08:21 PM - http://www.dnforum.com/f208/support-thread-102623.html#post839060

 

[PRED]

No SSL login? No Failed login notification? Don't know which site your logging into but its def not Moniker.com What can we learn about security from the other registrars that lose names? If we didn't do all the things we do to protect names, we would have had thefts like everyone else

ok, so address the rep issue. it's diabolical. if your biggest fans and biggest customers are saying you got problems, listen or lose them John, that simple

at best your reps are too busy, so get some more staff so lower client customer ratio. at worst they're rude in ignoring clients.
which one is it?
when you figure it out, fix it please.
i tried pming Monte about a few things but even he doesn't get back these days :worried:

 

[gingeman]

Monte, Don Lyons and John are all exceptional members of staff at moniker, which has always been and is still my #1 choice of registrar. The support staff who deal with problems submitted through the ticket system may not be of the same calibre as these three however... I have had a few hiccups since the takeover, but whether they could be attributed to that or not I couldn't say. Overall, I think there have been very few negative implications for the aquisition of moniker by oversee.net

 

[Bloom]

If you need assistance please contact me personally and we will definitely take care of you.


Regards,
John Mauriello
[email protected]

Thank you John for replying to my email and your good offices.
At last, after 17 days, the ticket was addressed and support staff attended to the issue. Please note that this issue could have been resolved within a day or two at the most instead of waiting for such a long time if the support staff did not ignore the ticket in question.
Anyway, I will stick to Moniker in the belief that the support system will improve in the future.

My advice to other Moniker Customers is :

1) wait for support to reply to your ticket (wait time depends on how urgent your issue is)

2) if no reply from support, try comments-at-moniker.com (usually they reply very quickly - but this does not mean that your ticket is addressed)

3) if comments can not help, try jmauriello-at-moniker.com and give him some time to reply

4) if no reply from John, come to this forum (Reply guaranteed)

 

[dvdrip]

Moniker will not seize control of your domains based on legal threats and we do not treat domains as loss leaders to try to increase the other parts of our business.

Really? So why was one of my domains deactivated without any notice for three weeks? That is after I discovered it by accident. Monte is on holidays or not available since that happened a few months back. Way to go!!!