Free Domain DNS hosting w/ redirection to existing webspace?
November 20, 2005 3:11 PM   Subscribe

Anyone still doing free domain redirection? Failing that, anyone know any good guides for doing whatever DNS thing I need to do using my old Win98SE laptop?

I recently registered a .be domain name free for one year. Registering the domain was free, but the place I registered at doesn't offer anything other than placeholder DNS entries -- they don't even redirect to existing web space. I have a website, even have my own .net domain, but that costs me way too much a year and I don't want to double it. I know I should just get a static IP and do it all myself, but before I do that I'd like to see if there are any free services where I can point my new domain and they will redirect through to a static page on my existing domain.

Or if someone know a real "idiot's guide to" configuring Win98SE to do what I need to do I guess I could finally get a static IP address and host everything locally. Even my existing domain.
posted by krisjohn to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)
 
Best answer: Try Zone Edit for your DNS needs. Hosting DNS on your laptop doesn't sound like something you'd want to do, unless you want your website going down on a regular basis.
posted by nitsuj at 3:22 PM on November 20, 2005


Afraid.org offers free DNS hosting, and you can control your own DNS records. You can then run dynamic dns or whatever you want to update your dns to point at the IP address of your Win98 box.
posted by stovenator at 3:38 PM on November 20, 2005


Unless your .net webhost is ridiculously restrictive, you should be able to add a 2nd domain to it. Try that first. If they really are that restrictive, I can wholeheartedly recommend Dreamhost as a replacement.

If that's not a viable option, then both ZoneEdit and EveryDNS are good DNS services that let you manage a limited number of domains for free. ZoneEdit is a bit more configurable, while EveryDNS is a bit simpler and supports Dynamic DNS clients. Since they're both free, you can try both and see which you prefer.
posted by boaz at 3:50 PM on November 20, 2005


Response by poster: I won't be sure for 72 hours, but it looks like Zone Edit does exactly what I want -- at least until I decide it's time to get a static IP address for home.
posted by krisjohn at 4:04 PM on November 20, 2005


the folks at http://www.yi.org/ are great and bullshit-free.
posted by ori at 6:37 PM on November 20, 2005


If you transfer registrars to Namecheap, they'll do pretty much exactly what you want, practically for free... $7/year.

They'll either redirect your web site or wrap it in a frame (your choice), and they'll freely redirect email for you... multiple aliases to multiple destinations, but I'm not sure how many. They will also host POP3 email for you if you wish, but that service they charge more for.

They have a nice anonymizer service that hides your real name and address, so that the average Joe can't track you down easily. They offer an anonymized email bounce, so people can still reach you about the domain if necessary. And you can change the anonymized bounce anytime you want, even on a schedule, if you're getting spam to that address.

Very good provider.
posted by Malor at 10:07 PM on November 20, 2005


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