How do I get a web site address that I own and control, as long as I
pay for it and do not break any laws ? Is there a company that states
so in its "terms of service" or somewhere in print ?
 
 Also, if you put in an address in the search window of Google and
others, as "abcdefg.com"  and if comes back with no results, does that
mean that that "name or address" is available ?  How do I check
availability ? independently of web hosting companys, if i can ?

Hi,

You can buy domain addresses from companies called registrars. ICANN
is the regulatory body for registrars and the top level domains (.com,
.org, .net, etc). For other "local" domains such as "co.uk" there are
other regulators and registrars, although most registrars will allow
you to purchase from a vast amount of domains.

ICANN
http://www.icann.org/

The list of accredited registrars is probably the best place to start
for a company that will sell you a domain.

List of accredited registrars
http://www.icann.org/registrars/accredited-list.html

I personally use UKREG because of quality of service and price.

UKREG
http://www.ukreg.com/

To verify if a domain is available you need to make use of a WHOIS
server. If a domain is not found on there, it generally means that
it's available. But because there are delays for registrating domains,
you cannot be sure until you apply and get a confirmation that the
domain has been approved.

WHOIS lookup
http://www.internic.net/whois.html

In general the registrar you buy from will have a tool to verify the
availability of a domain before you buy it.

For example if you go to UKREG, there's a search box on the right of
the main page where you can just type a domain name and then search.
If the domain is taken it will also query alternatives and bring back
the information.

UKREG
http://www.ukreg.com/

For web hosting, which is different to domain purchasing you need to
use a hosting company. Most hosting companies can also manage your
domain. Fasthosts is the same company as UKREG and is the hosting arm
of it. Therefore the two services are tightly integrated.

Fasthosts
http://www.fasthosts.com/

Domain availability checker
http://www.fasthosts.com/domains/


If you require anymore information, please do not hesitate to ask.

Thanks.
endo


Search strategy:

Web domain
://www.google.com/search?q=web+domain


Links:

Internic
http://www.internic.net/index.html

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Clarification of Answer by endo-ga on 02 Dec 2004 05:08 PST

Thank you for the great rating and the generous tip.
endo

Very good, would have taken me a good amount time. A money saver.

You can also use Google Search Engine Feature

by typing site:example.com

This searches whether that site is available or not

CSJakharia