In today’s blog, we’re going to talk about the changes we have made to our password recovery process.
You may remember reading our blog a couple of months ago about our commitment to continuous improvement and responding to feedback. Well, that’s exactly what’s been at play with our password recovery process.
When the new registry went live on 1 July under Afilias’ control we were required, as part of the technical specification, to provide a facility for registrants to recover their domain name password. Generally, this is used as a backup to the password recovery facility registrars provide.
Our tool worked this way. The registrar would enter their domain name into a webform and they would receive a call within 48 hours with the password. This is secure in that the registrant would be required to verify details with the Afilias technical support person.
However, we very quickly realised that this tool wasn’t being used just by registrants but IT service providers acting on behalf of their clients—the registrants. They may be trying to recover the passwords for dozens of clients whose registrars weren’t readily known to them. Despite the secureness of the new password recovery process, this proved time consuming for both these requesters and our technical support team.
We swiftly got to work improving the process while preserving its security.
Well, the new password recovery tool went live on Tuesday and the feedback has been extremely positive. This is how it works:
1. Head to the Recover Domain Password and Expiry Date page.
2. Enter the domain name, your name, and click ‘recover’.
3. An email will be sent to the email address associated with your domain registration and it will contain a temporary link. Click the link.
4. You’ll be taken to a page that shows your domain password, and also the registration expiry date, and the name of your sponsoring registrar.
The new password recovery tool strikes the right balance between security and end-user convenience. Our commitment to continuous improvement will see enhancements made to the registry that adhere to global technical, security, and policy standards while being of benefit to the entire Australian internet community.
Have a question or want to suggest a topic for us to cover? Email us at transformationblog@afilias.com.au.
More information on Afilias plc is located at www.afilias.info.