When you register a site with network solutions, please be aware that anyone can do a whois against the domain name and get your contact information.  I am a IT Security guy by trade and I have found two web sites where the ladies registered their actual name, address and contact information.  This is not REQUIRED!  Yes, I have contact the unknowing and informed them of the problem (much to their suprise when I used their real names), and no, I can not help it.  I'm nosey by nature so I do things like whois websites and check out where they are hosted and how the source was written.  Please be careful.  There are many sickos out there and all of these places could give away information you do not want known.  Present company excluded, of course

I agree with this post, and would add that the best solution is to have your ISP (the company that hosts the site) be the contacts.  That way everything is in their name.

The only problem with this though is that if you wish to move to a different ISP, it can get difficult.

Best solution, Get a PO box, and use that address for it all.  Use a fake name and nobody will know.

When I went to Mailboxes Etc to get a private box address, they required my real name with photo ID.

Is the US Postal service the same regarding photo ID to get a box?

I would happily tell you how to get around that problem.  But not on a public board.  E mail me at [email protected]

Ladies,

when you register a domain the _only_ field that is of use is the email contact; if you use a non-traceable address at hotmail or another provider then all the other fields such as name & address can be completely fictitious. The e-mail is used to notify the domain holder that the "lease" is going to expire, that's about it. If you register "abc.com" then you can also use "[email protected]" as the mail address...

-Shiro.

Now they do.  I just renewed mine and they needed that information.  However, they that information does not leave the local branch so I do not worry about it to much.

As a side note:  To protect myself from identity theft, I have created a prosonae on the Internet and use that exclusivly for all my dealing.  That personae has an email address and a P.O Box.  The only time I give my real information is when billing is required, and then only with reputable companies.  For example, when I register my web site, I use that personae for all contact information and only use my real information for the billing field.  When I set up an instant messanger or email account, I use the personae and give NO information outside what is needed.  If someone needs that information, they can ask me for it.  

For instance, I had a provider email me to ask some questions.  She gave me her instant messanger handle so we could chat.  When I viewed the properties of her account, she included her phone number.  I went to www.411.com and typed in the phone number, it came up with her full name and address.  I have not spoken to her yet outside email, never met her, but now I know what she looks like (IM Profile contains picture) and where she lives.  NOT GOOD!  All I see is another Summer Breeze waiting to happen.  Sorry to bring that up but she lived near me and it hits close to home.  It is just a reminder that we are not all nice guys and there is no need to take unneccessary risks.  Besides, with that information, I can call a skip trace friend at the bank and have them pull a credit report (or pay to pull one myself) and find out everything there is to know about you.  Open a few lines of credit and really make your life miserable.

I am at on MSN IM as [email protected].  (I know, all things MSN are insecure by nature but I do not supply real information and a number of my friends are not computer literate enough for hushmail/messenger) If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.  Suggest clearing relevent information out of your profile first

You can get a private domain at godaddy.com for example to avoid whois disclosures.