Dec 24 2023

Christmas and New Year 2023-2024 Opening Hours

Our Support and Network Operations Teams will be continuing to work 24 / 7 / 365 as usual – managing and monitoring all the datacentre, network, servers, managed systems and automation services.

The Administrative staff will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period.

Astutium Ltd will be operating a reduced Sales Team and Accounts Team from Friday 22nd December 2023 until Friday 5th January 2024.

Astutium would like to thank all our amazing clients, colleagues, affiliates, suppliers and social-media followers for your continued support throughout 2023 – we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year for 2024!

We are always very busy with new orders, helping people with their new laptops / tablets / phones, setting up new services, never more-so than the first few weeks of January. In order to help you and be as efficient as possible, please refer to the online support systems for Sales, Accounts and Support questions rather than the telephone(s) wherever possible – most questions have been already answered, so you can get an instant solution by checking online knowlegebase.

Please do not email any staff directly, as they may not be able to respond until their return from their holidays – opening a ticket is much more reliable and will ensure you get a response.

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2023/12/christmas-and-new-year-2023-2024-opening-hours/

Mar 07 2022

.BEST gTLD and BestTLD Pty Ltd. New company ? Old tricks !

We’ve been contacted by the “new” operators of the .BEST #newTLD in relation to our dropping of a pointless waste-of-internet-resources TLD from 2014.

In their email they claim:

THE BEST SAS, our French company … operates now the .Best since 3+ years, is daily fighting against spams and of course has nothing to do with the previous owners.

Having admitted the article predates their operation by a number of years, and now daily fighting against spam, instead of wanting to start a dialog about
* would we reconsidering selling the domains
or
* we know you had a bad experience we’re sorry, is there a way forward
or
* how they’ve been repairing the reputation of a tainted tld
or even just
* lets meet up for coffee at one of the many industry events and discuss the changes at .best

No, none of that civilised and sensible stuff.

They go straight into the demands to have history revised, and the actions of the (claimed previous) tld operator management/staff whitewashed, backed up by the usual threats of legal action common amongst impotent CEOs needing to feel better about themselves by trying to bully people.

I can only assume that 5 years too late for due-diligence on the acquisition, they have a least finally contracted someone who has a slight clue about using a search-engine.

In a karmic twist of technlogical fate, their followup email stating they will be taking action under DCMA (which doesn’t exist in or apply to the UK) [and where they state it is actually the same company behind .BEST], gets flagged by mailservers as *SPAM* – the very issue that led to the first article getting written :

5.0 BAYES_99               BODY: Bayes spam probability is 99 to 100%

No real changes there then !


Time to just firewall out the entire .BEST domain extension – less junk in the mailbox, and you’ll never miss it.

For linux edit your /etc/hosts.deny
file and add

ALL : .best

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2022/03/dot-best-gtld-claims-changed-but-have-they-really/

Jul 11 2020

Major Engineering Works – DataCentre Power Upgrade/Replacement

Possible outages – details at

Major Engineering Works – Services at Risk

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2020/07/major-engineering-works-datacentre-power-upgrade-replacement/

Mar 13 2020

COVID-19 and Astutium At-Office and On-Site Meetings

Whilst we are (usually) quite happy to receive clients, suppliers and industry colleagues in person at our locations in London, we have always preferred pre-arrangement as it enables the appropriate team members to be made available
– plus given enough advance-notice I might even be able to get some biscuits in 🙂

With reference to the global concern regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, the following measures are being taken to protect our team members and you for at any face-to-face meetings.

And yes, we are aware you already know that you’re not to come to a meeting if you are unwell, and I do not mean to imply that you are in any way ‘dirty’, but as a precautionary measure…

To ensure the health and safety of all meeting participants, we are:

  • Not booking any new client site visits for a minimum of 90 days from today
  • Not sending any new invitations to our premises for a minimum of 90 days from today
  • For planned meetings at our office, insisting that everyone washes thoroughly on arrival and departure

    [facilities are of course available, and despite the recent reports of panic buying/shortages, I can assure you we have enough soap & handwash & wipes & toilet-rolls to maintain our always excellent hygiene standards]
  • For meetings at the datacentres, insisting everyone washes thoroughly before and after use of all common areas

    [in-dc facilities are available, and I will be delivering additional levels of personal hygiene supplies]
  • Requesting that meetings are cancelled/postponed/moved-online where possible
  • Implementing an appointment-only access arrangement for our offices moving forward

We are closely monitoring the impact of the virus on business gatherings, and checking our existing DR/BC plans remain more than sufficient.

So please accept my apologies if you had expected to be able to “pop by” and see us, and if that had been the case, please give me a call (or drop me an email), and together we can see what options remain available for getting together.

Rob Golding
Astutium Ltd

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2020/03/covid-19-and-astutium-at-office-and-on-site-meetings/

Mar 13 2020

COVID-19 and Astutium Event Attendance

My highest priority is always to ensure the security, safety and general well-being of all the in-office, on-site and remote-working staff.

With reference to the global concern regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, the following measures are being taken to protect our team members (and the other attendees) at all events we were scheduled or planning to be involved with.

This includes ICANN Meetings, RIPE Meetings, LINX Meetings Training Courses, Networking Evenings, Sponsor Events, etc

To ensure the health and safety of all attendees, we are:

  • Following the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Health Service (NHS)
  • Adhering to any travel restrictions and guidance of the host country/government
  • Allowing all staff the option to cancel should they choose to withdraw from attending
  • Not booking any new events for a minimum of 90 days from today
  • Providing remote-attendance (video/audio conferencing) alternatives where possible

To-date numerous industry and business functions have already been officially postponed/cancelled, with many more likely to be impossible to operate based on headcount restrictions and travel capabilities of the host nation(s) or intermediate countries.

If you were planning to meet up with us at one of these events, please give me a call (or drop me an email), and together we can see what options remain available for getting together.

In the meantime, I am closely monitoring the situation – various interim measures (and the overall company policies) will be updated as necessary.

Rob Golding
Astutium Ltd

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2020/03/covid-19-and-astutium-event-attendance/

Dec 23 2019

Christmas and New Year 2019-2020 Opening Hours

The Support and Network Operations Teams will be continuing to work 24 / 7 / 365 as usual, managing and monitoring all the datacentre, network, servers, managed systems and automation services.

Our Administrative staff will be taking a break over the Christmas and New Year period.

Astutium Ltd will be operating a reduced Sales and Accounts Team (for telephone enquiries) from Monday 23rd December 2019 until Friday 3rd January 2020:
Sales – 10:30am to 4:30pm
Accounts – Closed

Astutium would like to thank all our amazing clients, colleagues, affiliates, suppliers and social-media followers for your continued support throughout 2019 – we wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas 2019 and a fantastic New Year for 2020!

We are always very busy with new orders, helping people with their new laptops / tablets / phones, setting up new services, never more-so than the first few weeks of January. In order to help you and be as efficient as possible, please refer to the online support systems for Sales, Accounts and Support questions rather than the telephone(s) wherever possible – most questions have been already answered, so you can get an instant solution by checking the video tutorials and online knowlegebase.

Please do not email any staff directly, as they may not be able to respond until their return from their holidays – opening a ticket is much more reliable and will ensure you get a speedy response.

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2019/12/christmas-and-new-year-2019-2020-opening-hours/

Feb 06 2019

NamesCon 2019 Keynote Roundup Trends Report

The Annual NamesCon US/Global conference has drawn to a close.

Attendees are all back at work, hopefully fired up on what they learned, working with new partners/colleagues and using/selling those domains they bought in the 2M$+ live auction and 1M$ of side-room deals !

If you were unable to attend the latest NamesCon Las Vegas conference (or if you did but want a reminder/recap) the summary of selected keynote sessions is now available on the NC website at NamesCon Trend Report

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2019/02/namescon-2019-keynote-roundup-trends-report/

Jan 10 2019

NamesCon Global 2019

NamesCon

is the main USA annual industry conference (and trade show) about domain name investing for registrars/resellers and domainers

As at 6th January 2019 there are still Discounted Tickets available for NamesCon Global 2019 (Las Vegas)



Astutium, BrandBlazer and HandPicked.domains staff will be in attendance – if you’d like to schedule a meeting to discuss the domain industry, post-iana transition icann, domaining or selling your registrar business then get in touch 🙂

What?

NamesCon Global 2019

NamesCon is an annual industry conference for domainers (buyers/sellers/investors in domain names).

Started in 2014 NamesCon was acquired by WHD (now called CloudFest), which was acquired by Host Europe and then acquired by GoDaddy !

The event is a combination of training, sales-pitches, auctions and exhibitions about the domain name industry with a specific focus on the secondary market/domaining.

Where?

Tropicana Las Vegas


NamesCon Global 2019 is taking place at the Tropicana Las Vegas, a hotel/casino on the Las Vegas Strip just minutes from the airport.

3801 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas
NV 89109-4325
+1.855-605-0318

When?

Saturday January 26th 2019 through Wednesday January 30th 2019

(plus travel either side)

The best and brightest from the domain investing, domain reselling and domain hoarding industry segments will be gathering to:
* learn about the latest ideas and technology affecting their businesses
* network with peers
* connect with existing and new suppliers
* discuss growth and acquisition plans
and much more – for more details see the FAQ at https://namescon.global/faq/

* Sponsorship …
Sponsorship options are still available at:
https://namescon.global/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NamesCon-Global-2019_sales-booklet_v26.pdf

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2019/01/namescon-global-2019/

Dec 24 2018

Christmas and New Year 2018-2019 Opening Hours

The Support and Network Operations Teams will be continuing to work 24 / 7 / 365 as usual, taking care of the datacentre, network, servers, managed systems and automated systems, the administrative staff will be taking breaks over the Christmas and New Year period.

Astutium Ltd will be operating a reduced Sales and Accounts Team (for telephone enquiries) from Friday 21st December 2018 until Wednesday 2nd January 2019:
Sales – 10.30am to 2.30pm
Accounts – Closed

We would like to thank all our clients, colleagues, affiliates, suppliers and followers for your continued support throughout 2018, and to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a successful New Year for 2019!

We are always very busy with new orders, helping people with their new laptops, setting up new emails – especially between mid-December and the end of January, so for efficiency ask everyone to refer to the online support system for Sales, Accounts and Support questions rather than the telephone(s) if possible – that way we can ensure everything gets tracked and dealt with as quickly as possible – please do not email any staff directly, as they may not be able to respond until their return from their holidays.

Continue reading

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2018/12/christmas-and-new-year-2018-2019-opening-hours/

Feb 02 2018

2017 dotUK Renewals Report Published

Nominet Business Intelligence - dotUK Renewal Rates The latest edition of the Nominet Business Intelligence reports have been issued, which show the Registrations, Renewals and Transfers [growth and loss] of the .UK domain name market, and compare a registrar to the average for the registry overall.

Who wants be below-average or even just-average ? Not us 🙂

It’s always nice to see independent figures confirming our internal data – for every month during 2017 Astutium Ltd [ a Nominet Accredited Registrar for .UK domains ] outperformed the industry averages by a considerable margin – and that is all thanks to you, our fantastic dotUK registrants !

As a special “thank you” for making 2017 we’ll be launching some new co.uk / org.uk / me.uk / plc.uk / ltd.uk / uk special offers in coming weeks

2017 Astutium Renewal Rate .uk Renewal Rate
Jan 80.65% 74.28%
Feb 75.30% 74.60%
Mar 77.35% 74.22%
Apr 79.37% 73.36%
May 82.74% 73.46%
Jun 79.46% 74.19%
Jul 79.25% 73.60%
Aug 81.60% 73.62%
Sep 82.02% 74.47%
Oct 79.91% 73.54%
Nov 80.21% 73.88%
Dec 81.14% 72.23%

Permanent link to this article: https://blog.astutium.com/2018/02/2017-dotuk-renewals-report-published/

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