Migrating a Domain from Onamae.com to Google Domains

When moving domain management, individuals should watch out for WHOIS disclosure

Posted on Tue, May 23, 2023
Tags domain, network, google
📝 This article is a translation of the original Japanese post. View original

Background

  • I wanted to try doing a domain transfer, and since I use Google Cloud I wanted to consolidate the billing.

Outcome

  1. The domain transfer works, but you have to temporarily publish your WHOIS information
    • This isn’t specific to Onamae.com — at transfer time the receiving registrar needs to confirm ownership based on the WHOIS information (surely there’s a better way)
  2. Since address and phone number are not verified by an actual phone call or postal delivery, the transfer went through even when I temporarily switched everything except the email address to placeholder information (at your own risk!)
  3. The transfer took 1 hour in total. During that time, personal (albeit placeholder) information was published in WHOIS
    • There’s a practice on the internet of letting the domain lapse and re-registering it at the destination, but waiting the roughly 30 days for it to be released is rough too
  4. After the domain transfer, if you don’t set up DNS as needed, the site becomes unreachable

Work Log

The steps for a domain transfer are available on the internet, so I’ll skip writing them out.

The key point is that until the transfer to Google Domains completes, you have to temporarily disable WHOIS proxy registration.

The Situation During the Domain Transfer

It takes a few hours for the domain transfer to complete. The moment I changed whois, the values registered with ICANN did change as expected (the below is sanitized).

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$ whois amasuda.xyz
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

refer:        whois.nic.xyz
domain:       XYZ
organisation: XYZ.COM LLC
address:      2121 E Tropicana Ave, Suite 2
address:      Las Vegas NV 89119
address:      United States of America (the)
contact:      administrative
name:         General Counsel
organisation: XYZ.COM LLC
address:      2121 E Tropicana Ave, Suite 2
address:      Las Vegas NV 89119
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.7027632191
e-mail:       hello@xyz.com
contact:      technical
name:         CTO
organisation: CentralNic
address:      Saddlers House, 4th Floor
address:      44 Gutter Lane
address:      London EC2V 6BR
address:      United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone:        +44 20 33 88 0600
fax-no:       +44 20 33 88 0601
e-mail:       tld.ops@centralnic.com
nserver:      X.NIC.XYZ 194.169.218.42 2001:67c:13cc:0:0:0:1:42
nserver:      Y.NIC.XYZ 185.24.64.42 2a04:2b00:13cc:0:0:0:1:42
nserver:      Z.NIC.XYZ 212.18.248.42 2a04:2b00:13ee:0:0:0:0:42
ds-rdata:     3599 8 1 3fa3b264f45db5f38bedeaf1a88b76aa318c2c7f
ds-rdata:     3599 8 2 b9733869bc84c86bb59d102ba5da6b27b2088552332a39dcd54bc4e8d66b0499
whois:        whois.nic.xyz
status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://nic.xyz
created:      2014-02-06
changed:      2022-08-16
source:       IANA

# whois.nic.xyz

Domain Name: AMASUDA.XYZ
Registry Domain ID: D32657943-CNIC
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.discount-domain.com
Registrar URL: http://www.onamae.com
Updated Date: 2023-05-20T15:56:54.0Z
Creation Date: 2016-06-20T15:08:19.0Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2023-06-20T23:59:59.0Z
Registrar: GMO Internet Group, Inc. d/b/a Onamae.com
Registrar IANA ID: 49
Domain Status: ok https://icann.org/epp#ok
Registrant Organization: Akira Masuda
Registrant State/Province: Tokyo
Registrant Country: JP
Registrant Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Admin Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Tech Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Name Server: DNS1.P03.NSONE.NET
Name Server: DNS2.P03.NSONE.NET
Name Server: DNS3.P03.NSONE.NET
Name Server: DNS4.P03.NSONE.NET
DNSSEC: unsigned
Billing Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@gmo.jp
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +81.337709199
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2023-05-20T16:25:08.0Z <<<

# whois.discount-domain.com

Domain Name: amasuda.xyz
Registry Domain ID: D32657943-CNIC
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.discount-domain.com
Registrar URL: http://www.onamae.com
Updated Date: 2023-05-21T01:24:03Z
Creation Date: 2016-06-20T15:08:20Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2023-06-20T23:59:59Z
Registrar: GMO INTERNET, INC.
Registrar IANA ID: 49
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@gmo.jp
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +81.337709199
Domain Status: ok https://icann.org/epp#ok
Registry Registrant ID: 267A95B5B7A892
Registrant Name: Akira Masuda
Registrant Organization: Akira Masuda
Registrant Street: 1-1
Registrant City: Chiyoda ku                    <---- this area is what gets published
Registrant State/Province: Tokyo
Registrant Postal Code: 100-0001
Registrant Country: JP
Registrant Phone: +81.9011111111
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: hogehoge@gmail.com
Registry Admin ID: 29F63C1ED94797
Admin Name: Akira Masuda
Admin Organization: Masuda Akira
Admin Street: 1-1
Admin City: Chiyoda ku
Admin State/Province: Tokyo
Admin Postal Code: 100-0001
Admin Country: JP
Admin Phone: +81.9011111111
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: hogehoge@gmail.com
Registry Tech ID: 29F63C45B31FA3
Tech Name: Taro Warita
Tech Organization: GMO Internet Inc.
Tech Street: 26-1 Sakuragaoka-cho
Tech Street: Cerulean Tower 11F
Tech City: Shibuya-ku
Tech State/Province: Tokyo
Tech Postal Code: 150-8512
Tech Country: JP
Tech Phone: +81.354562555
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax: +81.354562556
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: admin@onamae.com
Name Server: dns1.p03.nsone.net
Name Server: dns2.p03.nsone.net
Name Server: dns3.p03.nsone.net
Name Server: dns4.p03.nsone.net
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2023-05-21T01:24:03Z <<<

It says up to 5/27 at the longest, so it really is better not to put personal information in WHOIS.

30 Minutes After Starting the Transfer, the Transfer Approval Notice

An email titled “[Important] Confirmation regarding your transfer request” arrived from Onamae.com.

I expected that once approved it would switch to Google Domains and WHOIS would switch too, but even after pressing approve the WHOIS information didn’t change for a while.

Another 30 Minutes Later, Email Address Verification

An email arrived asking me to confirm that the email address was correct. It’s unclear where this email address information is being read from, but even if you’re going to publish WHOIS, you obviously need to have a correct email address configured.

Overall, the transfer progressed on roughly the following timeline.

Checking the WHOIS information. I have the correct address and so on configured on the Google side, but since privacy protection is enabled, you can confirm that Google is registering on my behalf.

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$ whois amasuda.xyz
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object

refer:        whois.nic.xyz

domain:       XYZ

organisation: XYZ.COM LLC
address:      2121 E Tropicana Ave, Suite 2
address:      Las Vegas NV 89119
address:      United States of America (the)

contact:      administrative
name:         General Counsel
organisation: XYZ.COM LLC
address:      2121 E Tropicana Ave, Suite 2
address:      Las Vegas NV 89119
address:      United States of America (the)
phone:        +1.7027632191
e-mail:       hello@xyz.com

contact:      technical
name:         CTO
organisation: CentralNic
address:      Saddlers House, 4th Floor
address:      44 Gutter Lane
address:      London EC2V 6BR
address:      United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone:        +44 20 33 88 0600
fax-no:       +44 20 33 88 0601
e-mail:       tld.ops@centralnic.com

nserver:      GENERATIONXYZ.NIC.XYZ 212.18.249.42 2a04:2b00:13ff:0:0:0:0:42
nserver:      X.NIC.XYZ 194.169.218.42 2001:67c:13cc:0:0:0:1:42
nserver:      Y.NIC.XYZ 185.24.64.42 2a04:2b00:13cc:0:0:0:1:42
nserver:      Z.NIC.XYZ 212.18.248.42 2a04:2b00:13ee:0:0:0:0:42
ds-rdata:     3599 8 1 3fa3b264f45db5f38bedeaf1a88b76aa318c2c7f
ds-rdata:     3599 8 2 b9733869bc84c86bb59d102ba5da6b27b2088552332a39dcd54bc4e8d66b0499

whois:        whois.nic.xyz

status:       ACTIVE
remarks:      Registration information: https://nic.xyz

created:      2014-02-06
changed:      2022-08-16
source:       IANA

# whois.nic.xyz

Domain Name: AMASUDA.XYZ
Registry Domain ID: D32657943-CNIC
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.google.com
Registrar URL: https://domains.google.com
Updated Date: 2023-05-20T17:12:49.0Z
Creation Date: 2016-06-20T15:08:19.0Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2024-06-20T23:59:59.0Z
Registrar: Google Inc
Registrar IANA ID: 895
Domain Status: serverTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#serverTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: transferPeriod https://icann.org/epp#transferPeriod
Registrant Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Registrant State/Province: ON
Registrant Country: CA
Registrant Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Admin Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Tech Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D1.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D2.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D3.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D4.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
Billing Email: Please query the RDDS service of the Registrar of Record identified in this output for information on how to contact the Registrant, Admin, or Tech contact of the queried domain name.
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: registrar-abuse@google.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.2065311374
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2023-05-20T17:20:44.0Z <<<

# whois.google.com

Domain Name: amasuda.xyz
Registry Domain ID: D32657943-CNIC
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.google.com
Registrar URL: https://domains.google.com
Updated Date: 2023-05-20T17:12:49Z
Creation Date: 2016-06-20T15:08:19Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2024-06-20T23:59:59Z
Registrar: Google LLC
Registrar IANA ID: 895
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: registrar-abuse@google.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8772376466
Domain Status: serverTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#serverTransferProhibited
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://www.icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Domain Status: transferPeriod https://www.icann.org/epp#transferPeriod
Registry Registrant ID: go721301258106
Registrant Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Registrant Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Registrant Street: 96 Mowat Ave
Registrant City: Toronto
Registrant State/Province: ON
Registrant Postal Code: M4K 3K1
Registrant Country: CA
Registrant Phone: +1.4165385487
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email: https://domains.google.com/contactregistrant?domain=amasuda.xyz
Registry Admin ID: go721301258106
Admin Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Admin Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Admin Street: 96 Mowat Ave
Admin City: Toronto
Admin State/Province: ON
Admin Postal Code: M4K 3K1
Admin Country: CA
Admin Phone: +1.4165385487
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email: https://domains.google.com/contactregistrant?domain=amasuda.xyz
Registry Tech ID: go721301258106
Tech Name: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Tech Organization: Contact Privacy Inc. Customer 7151571251
Tech Street: 96 Mowat Ave
Tech City: Toronto
Tech State/Province: ON
Tech Postal Code: M4K 3K1
Tech Country: CA
Tech Phone: +1.4165385487
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax:
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email: https://domains.google.com/contactregistrant?domain=amasuda.xyz
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D1.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D2.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D3.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
Name Server: NS-CLOUD-D4.GOOGLEDOMAINS.COM
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System: http://wdprs.internic.net/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2023-05-20T17:20:00.298499Z <<<

Impressions

Proving domain ownership to ICANN is fine, but how much need is there to make that public information… At the very least I’d like the information to be masked.

I was also curious why a procedure that completes entirely on the internet takes this much time.

Postscript

I assumed there’d be no problems for a while after changing where the domain is managed, but a few days later I noticed the site had become unreachable. The reason was that the DNS settings I had configured at Onamae.com hadn’t carried over to Google Domains, so name resolution for the custom domain was failing.

The blind spot was that it didn’t surface immediately, because the browser cache was still around.

By applying the necessary DNS settings on the Google Domains side too, I’m now able to deliver articles like this one again.

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