Microsoft Windows Taskbar Shortcuts

Thousands of small business webmasters briefly lose their domain names at expiration, due to a simple lack of understanding about the roles of three key players in the drama: domain name registrars, web hosts and internet service providers. Fortunately for most, they learn quickly how to save their web site from oblivion by using the 30 day redemption period for expired domain names enforced by ICANN. One simple solution is to extend domain registration for the maximum ten years. The other solution is to treat domain registrar data as the critical business element it is.

I Can't Remember Where I Purchased My Domain Name!

It wasn't until my third client had called asking how to regain control of her domain name that I realized that it was a common problem for small business webmasters to forget where they had registered their domains. WHOIS my registrar? Why didn't I get an email about renewal? Why did my site stop working today?

People rarely realize how important it is to keep their domain registrar notified of changes to their email address and and other contact information. The registrar will send renewal notifications to the email address last on file. For most domain owners, the only time they think about contacting a registrar is the day they reserve their domain name. If they move to a new city and get a new internet service provider, it doesn't occur to them that the old email address will change and that meeans that the registrar can no longer contact them through the previous address, or phone or fax as each of them change and we rarely notify the controller of our domain of those changes.

Sometimes the first indication a business owner will have that there is a problem is the day their web site stops working. If they failed to notify their domain registrar of changed email address, they may never have received their domain renewal notice. Since many registrars honor a 30 day "redemption period" allowing expired domains to be redeemed, it may be possible to save the registration within 30 days following expiration by contacting registrars during 30 day domain redemption periods.

The following URL leads to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (AKA ICANN) discussing the grace period and redemption period rules it enforces.

http://www.icann.org/bucharest/redemption-topic.htm

1. Click on an empty portion of the taskbar, hold down your left mouse button and drag it to the top of the screen. Think about it: You spend 90% of your time on the top of the screen clicking on menus, buttons, and minimizing windows. Why cruise all the way down to the bottom?
2. Now hover your cursor on the bottom line of the taskbar until it turns into double arrows, and drag the taskbar down until it is twice the size.
3. Move the toolbar containing your minimized windows buttons to the top row if it's not there already. Note that the toolbars all contain a vertical line on the left end, which you can click and drag to move in any direction.
4. Right click on an empty area, select toolbars and check address. Place it on the second row all the way to the left.
5. Download a freeware program called Command Prompt Bar at http://perso.wanadoo.fr/ruindivision/. After installation, right click again to reach the toolbars menu and select it's entry. Place this toolbar in the middle of the second row.
6. Select toolbars again and this time select new toolbar. Click on My Documents in the window provided. It should show up on the second row on the right. Slide this toolbar all the way to the right. See what happens when you click on the two small arrows?