Bottle Closed Down

[Data Glasses]

I just received this email from the auda


Dear .au Registrant

.au Domain Administration Ltd (auDA) is the Government-endorsed industry regulatory authority for the .au domain space.


Your domain name is 0-0.com.au
Your domain name expiry date is 25-MAY-10
Your Domain Name Password is -------------

You are receiving this email because you are the registrant contact for the above domain name.

Your domain name was registered through Bottle Domains.

On 15 April 2009, auDA terminated Bottle Domains' registrar accreditation due to a serious breach of its obligations under the Registrar Agreement.

Please note that your domain name is NOT at risk. Your domain name will continue unaffected until the expiry date listed above.

In order to renew your domain name before it expires, or to make any changes to your domain name in the meantime, you will need to transfer it to a new registrar of record.

If your domain name is managed by someone else (eg. your web host), then you should contact them for assistance. If you manage your own domain name, then please follow the instructions below.

How to transfer to a new registrar:

Step 1: Get your Domain Name Password

To transfer your domain name you will need to know your Domain Name Password. As a security measure, your Domain Name Password was changed by auDA when Bottle Domains' accreditation was terminated. Your new Domain Name Password is listed above.

Step 2: Select an auDA accredited registrar

Registrars are accredited by auDA and their job is to manage the domain name and renew it for you. You must select a registrar from the list of auDA Accredited Registrars at http://www.auda.org.au/registrars/accredited-registrars/.

There is no charge for simply transferring to a new registrar. You will only be charged if your domain name needs to be renewed at the same time that you transfer. Service offerings and renewal fees vary between registrars, so we recommend that you shop around before making your choice.

Once you have chosen a registrar you will need to contact them and give them your Domain Name Password. They will do the rest. Transferring your domain name from auDA to another registrar will take immediate effect, as soon as the registrar processes the transfer at the registry.

PLEASE NOTE: It is YOUR responsibility to transfer your domain name and renew it before the expiry date.

Even if your domain name is not due to expire for a while, transferring your domain name now will ensure that your details are up to date and that you can easily renew your domain name when the time comes.

Chris Disspain
CEO - auDA
Australia's Domain Name Administrator

 

[DomainMarketPlace]

Like i was saying in the other thread about customer service, there was more to the story:

The AuDa has since discovered the incident may have occurred in 2007 and Bottle Domains failed to notify it of the security breach, in which Bottle Domain's records were hacked into and the account information stolen.

"Information recently provided to AuDA by Bottle Domains about the April 2007 incident revealed that it did not reset customer passwords or alert its customers to the possibility that their account information had been accessed by third parties,'' AuDA said.

"Bottle Domains also failed to conduct an independent security audit to verify that the security vulnerability had been fixed, and that there was no other unauthorised access to its systems.''

It made the front page of the age.com.au:

http://business.theage.com.au/busin...over-hacked-client-details-20090415-a736.html

 

[Data Glasses]

it seems my names at domaincentral are not going to be needed to transfer out, but what a headache regarding about 15-20 others with bottle domains, the email states there is no transfer fees ....... i am wondering about that also ? i thought all registrars charged for transfers

 

[DomainMarketPlace]

No transfer fee for change of management.. only for transfer of ownership.

So your going to leave domains at a company (domain central uses the same systems i think) that was hacked in 2007 and covered it up until now?

 

[Data Glasses]

well that's also to be considered, but probably gotta move them as well , i am also wondering about a .com i have at bottle ........ regged for another 5 years from memory? i wonder if i lose those years if i transfer it over to godaddy (my usual .com place)

 

[TroyW]

Bottle Domains have had a cloud over there practices for some time. The owners other company Australian Style appeared to be registering domain names as they expired. I would'nt be surprised if there's more to this one than meets the eye.

 

[DavidL]

I would'nt be surprised if there's more to this one than meets the eye.

Well the big coincidence is auDA came down on them within 24 hours of the latest twist in the Brisconnections saga. I'm not sure if you've been following it but it is a quite amazing story.... much more interesting that their security breach

http://news.google.com.au/news?um=1&ned=au&num=100&cf=all&ncl=1332031709

for more info

 

[Rhythm]

Bottle Domains have had a cloud over there practices for some time. The owners other company Australian Style appeared to be registering domain names as they expired. I would'nt be surprised if there's more to this one than meets the eye.

Tell me about it. At the start of my 'domaining' I had been unsuccessfully trying to hand reg generic .com.au domains as they expire to the best of my ability, but was always beat out by one of the usual suspects.

Now I don't even bother. I don't know how they do it, but they do it. They either know exactly the time of day the domains drop, or through scripts or whatever they have up their sleeves. Whatever it is, they know they have the upper hand.

 

[Rhythm]

Bottle to resellers:

By now you will have received a notification regarding the de-accreditation of Bottle Domains as an au accredited Registrar. Had we been given prior notice of this ourselves we would have most definitely taken action to minimize this disruption to your business.

The de-accreditation relates to an issue which occurred in early 2007 which we adamantly dispute and are defending. We are seeking the intervention of the Supreme Court tomorrow morning, (Thursday, 16th of April). And will update you as soon as we have an outcome here.

We understand that what is important to you right now is the security and accessibility your own and your customers .au domain names. We reassure you that your domain management is safe with Bottle Domains, and should we not successfully reinstate the Registrar affected, we will offer to manage your domains through our Registrar Bottle Domains Pty Ltd which is independent to the Registrar affected by the agreement.

We recommend that you hold off on making a decision as to the future of your portfolio until we announce the outcome of the injunction at around mid day tomorrow. We remain confident that your domain names will be returned safely to their rightful location and that by the end of day tomorrow it will be more or less business as usual.

Should you wish to act sooner than this and require our assistance, or if you have any other enquiries regarding this matter we will be more than happy to help.

You can contact us via phone on 1300 88 74 74 from 9am tomorrow or via email at reseller@bottledomains.com

Best Regards,

Bottle Domains

 

[BottleDomains]

Response to auDA's de-accreditation notice

Hi DN trade members,

If any of you hold domain names with Bottle, I would like to firstly re-assure you that your domain names are safe.

I would also like to encourage you to get your information regarding the Bottle Domains .au de-accreditation from http://www.bottledomains.com.au/announcements/

There are a number of misrepresentations regarding this issue circulating in the media.

We are strongly disputing the reasons for auDA's action. There is a court injunction being heard in the Victorian Supreme Court this afternoon. We are confident that the result will be the restoration of our accreditation and the .au domain names held under Bottle Domains to be transferred back to where they rightfully belong.

We will be making a further statement following the conclusion of the injunction this afternoon.

If you hold domain names with Bottle we ask that you remain patient and do not initiate transfer of your .au domain name/s. We will provide further instructions as information comes to hand.

Please note that Australian Style is the parent for a group of Registrars none of which other than Bottle Domains Pty Ltd is affected.

Best Regards,

Bottle Domains
Management

 

[DomainMarketPlace]

i like these comments:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/comments/0,22023,25338019-664,00.html

 

[DavidL]

i like these comments:

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/comments/0,22023,25338019-664,00.html

Why?

Do you think auDA was entirely justified in its action? I just find it an incredible coincidence that within hours from when Nick Bolton becomes corporate Australia's favourite target of attack, auDA make this call.

If an unconnected business affair has influenced auDA's decsion in any way, then that's wrong. Whatever the circumstances of either issue...

Here is latest update BTW

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/101116,breaking-news-bottle-injunction-endangered-by-auda-appeal.aspx

 

[DomainMarketPlace]

Why?

Do you think auDA was entirely justified in its action? I just find it an incredible coincidence that within hours from when Nick Bolton becomes corporate Australia's favourite target of attack, auDA make this call.

If an unconnected business affair has influenced auDA's decsion in any way, then that's wrong. Whatever the circumstances of either issue...

Here is latest update BTW

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/101116,breaking-news-bottle-injunction-endangered-by-auda-appeal.aspx

I believe it was just a coincidence - it's not auDA's fault that he was already making headlines for other reasons. auDA has had weeks to arrive at this decision and they had known about the covered up breach for some time.

Who knows, maybe they could've announced it 2 days earlier... it still would've made the papers. The fact is both incidents arose at nearly the same time a few months back.

Shady business practices like covering up security breaches, false claims about PCI compliance etc reflects badly on all registrars.