After our special transfer promotion this past Earth Day, we thought we’d let you know how you did In the 24 hour period marking Earth Day 2012, you transferred 1,536 domains to Namecheap. That means your domain purchases also helped us plant over 1,500 trees in partnership with the International Tree Foundation!

Namecheap is pleased to announce that we will be matching our customer’s donations, bringing our total number of trees planted this Earth Day to 3,072.

Thanks for your commitment to the Earth. Stay tuned for what we have in store for 2013′s Earth Day!

Hope you’re having a great month. We’re pleased to let you know that we’ve been working hard on some great developments and we know many of you will be excited about what we have this month. Keep on reading for the details.

Register the 3 Millionth Domain and Win $3,000!

At Namecheap, we’re nearing our 3 million domain milestone, and on this occasion, we’re giving away a $3,000 grand prize to the customer who registers domain number 3,000,000 at Namecheap! In addition to the grand prize, before we hit the 3 million mark, we’re going to credit back one out of every ten com/net/org domain registrations from 2,990,000 up to 3 million. After we hit 3 million, we’ll credit back one out of every ten until we reach 3,010,000! For all of the details, click here.

.IN Domains Now $2.48 at Namecheap!

If you’re look.in‘ for a new TLD, we’re happy to announce that the .IN TLD is being offered at $2.48 for a very limited time. This is 86% off the standard $15.99 cost! To take advantage of this offer, click here and choose the doma.in you’re looking for. Valid for one year registrations only!

Credit Card Auto Renewal

You’ve asked—some of you have even begged—and we’ve answered! We’re thrilled to inform you that you can now auto renew domains and WhoisGuard on a set it and forget it schedule using a credit card in your Namecheap profile. Set up your cards in the Manage Payment Methods area and enjoy the convenience of auto-renewal by credit card on the domains you specify. You can also add this option manually using standard checkout. If you’ve got hosting at Namecheap, visit the Hosting Accounts area to view and update your card settings.

TRUSTe Seal for $0.01 – 250 Only!

With our recent launch of the TRUSTe Certification on the Namecheap website, we’re having a super promotion that will enable you to get the TRUSTe Privacy Policy with Seal for only ONE CENT! The price is regularly $89.95/year, so this is a steal that’s too good to pass up. This offer is limited to the first 250 users who claim it (one per account) and is redeemable with coupon code TRUSTME, so act fast as it will be gone soon!

Spotlight on Dima, Customer Support Manager, Hosting

I joined the Namecheap hosting support team in 2010 and have witnessed our team’s progress, evolution, and growth in all possible areas. Despite significant improvements, we are always striving to continue to exceed our customers’ expectations and are dedicated to keep the constant progress going. It is my responsibility to make sure we provide the level of support our clients expect from us as our clients’ overall satisfaction is our daily goal. If we can assist you and light up your face with a smile, that’s really the best reward.

Tip of the Month: Get Your Business SSL Issued Fast!

Business Validated SSL Certificates help add security and trust to your e-commerce project or other professional website, encrypting transactional data and letting the customer know where the data is going. This is done by displaying company details at a special seal placed on the website. Before the certificate is issued, a Certificate Authority must verify the business to ensure that valid details will be viewed. The validation may take from a couple to ten business days.

However, in a vast majority of cases, more than a half of the time can be spent to adjust the company details that are to be displayed to an end site visitor. Those include company name, organization unit, street address, city, state, country and phone/fax number.

The processing time can be reduced greatly by taking just one step. Before activating a Business Validated SSL, make sure the contact details for your business are the same in both your company registration documents, bank statements, utility bills, the CSR code and Whois Database for the domain. Also, use the same contact details for SSL Administrative contact at the final stage of SSL Activation.

This way, after the SSL is activated, you will only need to validate the domain ownership in an approval email, send the documents to the Certificate Authority, and allow some time for them to be checked. Done!

Coupons for April 2012

This month, get discounts on com/net/org/biz/de domains (transfers and new registrations) using coupon code RACETO3MM. This coupon is limited to 30 uses per account per month and is a limited time coupon. Also, enjoy 10% off your first month of VPS hosting using code VPSFAST and 10% off your first month of shared/business/reseller hosting using coupon code FOOLFREEHOST.

Enjoy the rest of April!

Happy Spring (at least on this hemisphere!) We’re so excited to report that we’re almost at 3 million domains, so we’re having a really awesome promotion (with lots and lots of freebies) for you… and that’s not all for March. Read on for the full skinny.

Closing in on 3 Million Domains

We’re rapidly approaching the 3 million mark of domains under our management and giving away special prizes for the occasion.

• The customer who purchases the 3 millionth domain will receive a $3,000 PayPal credit or Namecheap account credit!
• But before that, every 10th domain registered or transferred to Namecheap from 2,990,000 to 3 million will have its associated registration costs credited back to the account automatically.
• And of course, once we do reach the 3 million milestone, we’ll give another 1000 domains away for free for every 10th domain purchase or transfer, until we reach 3,010,000 domains!

Will you be a winner? Register your domain or transfer to us today! Full promotional details will be posted shortly on our website, so be sure to check out Namecheap.com for more.

Hosting Infrastructure Upgrades

Hosting at Namecheap continues to get better and better. We recognize the need to provide you with the best and most secure hosting services, so we’ve begun installing a module known as CXS, Configserver Exploit Scanner, on all shared servers. CXS actively scans files uploaded to web hosting accounts to ensure they are safe and do not contain malware or viruses. Files that are suspicious are quarantined before they become active. We intend to continue rolling it out to all shared, business, and reseller servers in the upcoming weeks.

This month, we also launched new dedicated server options on Namecheap with better CPU options, more RAM, and additional storage capacities. Try out our offerings today!

Spotlight on Stacy, Customer Support Representative

I became a member of the Namecheap Team in 2009 and worked as a Domain and SSL Customers Support representative. Now, I’m a member of the SSL Team where I share my experience with other representatives and do my best to make our customers happy and satisfied! For hobbies, I enjoy flamenco dancing and drawing cartoons.

Tip of the Month: $1.99 PositiveSSL certificates

Did you know that we currently sell PositiveSSL certificates for $1.99 with the purchase of any new qualifying service? Why do you need an SSL certificate, you ask? Not only does it help prove that you are who you claim to be, it also helps you protect your customers’ private information, such as a credit card or login details. By using an SSL certificate, you ensure that the information sent across the Internet is delivered and received without any data loss or intrusion.

To activate your recently purchased SSL certificate on your Namecheap account, go to your Manage Domains menu and click on SSL certificates. Choose the certificate you’re looking to use and click Activate Now. Select the appropriate server as instructed by your web host from the Web Server Drop Down List. Enter the CSR code, and then wait until the approval email is sent! For more information, visit our knowledge base article or contact us.

Reseller Hosting Trial Continued

We’re continuing our reseller hosting for $1 for the first month. Just add our reseller hosting to your cart, select the monthly billing cycle, and this discount will be automatically applied. Offer is limited to 1 trial package per customer and is valid on all level reseller hosting plans. You need not be a strict reseller as this is a hosting package that lets you run multiple websites. Take a test drive of our reseller hosting today.

Get Paid to Recommend Namecheap

Did you know that you can get cash directly in your bank account if you recommend us to friends and colleagues? Namecheap has an affiliate program where you can earn commissions off your referrals for hosting or domain purchases. If you’re interested in learning more, click here and read all about it.

Coupon Codes for March

It’s not too late to buy a domain at a discount this month! DOMAINS4US is our current coupon code for com/net/org/biz/us registrations and transfers. Hurry, though, this is a limited time offer and is also restricted to 30 uses per account!

Also, enjoy savings on our hosting plans using VIRTUAL1ZE for discount VPS hosting andBIZRESHARE for discount shared, business, and reseller hosting.

Keep in Touch

Our Facebook continues to be an active place for stories, tips, and tricks—and stay tuned for next month’s Facebook Timeline upgrade for our new design! We’ve got Twitter bustling with activity as well. As always, if you’re in need of any immediate assistance, our Live Chat lines are always open.

Have a great March, and the race is on to 3 million!

Valentine’s Day is upon us and we’re giving away $1,000 toward a romantic getaway with your significant other! Simply write a comment on this Facebook thread with your most romantic story (e.g. how you met, your first date, how you got engaged, your wedding story, etc). You are also encouraged to provide links to pictures and albums, and we’ll be asking our staff and friends to Like the stories they like the best! The person with the most Likes (pending editorial review) will be awarded $1,000 toward a getaway of their choice (payable by PayPal only). Be sure to tell your friends to check the updates and Like the ones they like the most. You must be a Namecheap customer to participate so be sure to sign up for an account today. Enter your comment by 11:59pm EST on February 14th for a chance to win. (To avoid any confusion, comments are closed on this post. Be sure to enter on the Facebook thread only.)

Happy February! This newsletter is coming early given the special festivities this weekend — it’s the Super Bowl! As you may know, that means we’re giving away lots of prizes. Keep on reading!

Namecheap’s Super Weekend Twitter Trivia Contest

To celebrate the Super Bowl, we’re running a Twitter trivia and giving away great prizes this weekend, February 4th through 5th, with great prizes including domain name credits and the latest in portable computing. All of the details will be posted on our contest page this week, so please be sure to check it out!

TRUSTe from Namecheap

Now, you can purchase two well known privacy seals directly from us, as we’ve added TRUSTe to the Namecheap family! You can purchase a TRUSTe Privacy Policy or the TRUSTe Privacy Policy with its well known Site Seal directly from us via this link starting February 2nd. TRUSTe is a brand name you can trust and reflects some of the highest standards in the web market today.

Spotlight on Anya, Assistant Marketing Manager

Having worked since 2007 in the Support, Fraud Prevention and Quality Assurance departments, I bring 5 years of experience to the Namecheap Marketing Team. My everyday task is to improve on the existing marketing processes and create new products to keep my company competitive and highly reactive to the market.

Namecheap Tip of the Month: Security Notifications

Did you know that you can turn on security notifications to be informed about changes made to your Namecheap account? We have Security Settings that allow you to be emailed at an address of your choosing when someone logs into your account, changes your profile, or performs any domain name update. To access and enable these settings, log into your account, click on Manage Profile, and then click on Security Settings on the left. Then, select your desired notifications and change your email. For more details and instructions, please refer to our help document or our video demo.

Reseller Hosting Trial

For the month of February, we’re giving you a chance to try our reseller hosting for $1 for the first month! We’re so confident in the offerings that we want you to give it a spin. Add our reseller hosting to your cart, select the monthly billing cycle, and the discount will be automatically applied. This offer is limited to 1 trial package per customer and is valid on all level reseller hosting plans. 

February Coupon Codes

Get a cheaper transfer to Namecheap on February 5th only (GoDaddy transfers only) using coupon code BYEBYEGD. This is a $6.99 transfer coupon code for com/net/org/info/biz and is limited to 10 uses per account.

This month, our coupon code for new domain registrations and transfers for com/net/org/biz domains is DOMAININ. This coupon code can also be used for .in registrations and transfers for February only! Act fast as this is a limited time coupon. It is also limited to 30 uses per account.

Get 10% off VPS registrations for your first month with coupon code VMFEB, and get 10% off shared hosting for your first month with coupon code PHXATLSHARES.

Have a great Leap Year month!

Namecheap has blacked out its website in protest of SOPA/PIPA bills that threaten the core principles of the Internet, joining other sites like Google and Wikipedia on January 18th to protest this upcoming legislation. Read the press release here.

In confirmation of our stance of SOPA/PIPA legislation, Namecheap has joined a major protest and blacked out its home page to raise awareness about SOPA/PIPA. While we still believe that protection of intellectual property is important, we are confident that it shouldn’t be achieved by limiting Internet freedom with online censorship.

Our regular website will still be accessible during this blackout. We understand that our customers rely on Namecheap to run their own businesses, and we can’t turn off that functionality and shut that down. That’s exactly what SOPA/PIPA want to do, and we’re going to oppose that until the very end.

What are SOPA and PIPA?

SOPA and PIPA represent two anti-piracy bills in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate respectively. Both may have good intentions, but they are harming the core principles of the Internet: freedom and innovation.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation features an excellent explanation of how the bills violate the freedom of speech that serves as the foundation of the Internet.

Namecheap strongly encourages its US-based customers to contact their Representative or Senator, and its International customers to donate to organizations like EFF and to petition the State Department, to ensure that broad opposition to this proposed legislation rings loud and clear. Along with other companies listed on SOPAstrike.com, Namecheap also encourages everyone to spread the message on January 18th using Facebook and Twitter hashtag #SOPAstrike.

More information about SOPA/PIPA

• S.968 – PROTECT IP Act at OpenCongress.org
• H.R.3261 – Stop Online Piracy Act at OpenCongress.org
• US residents: find out if your senator supports or opposes the legislation and learn about where the pro-SOPA money has gone
• Stop American Censorship
• Take Action Checklist
• VoteForTheNet
• Fight for the Future
• Make the Call!
• A video explaining PIPA
• A technical examination of SOPA/PIPA
• Clay Shirky’s TED Talk

Blackout in the news

• CNN
• National Post
• Al Jazeera

Blog and other media:

• Copyblogger
• Consumerist explains that these bills are far from dead.
• Mashable: SOPA Will Take Us Back to the Dark Ages, Why SOPA is Dangerous, and Why SOPA and PIPA Won’t Stop Real Piracy
• From Google’s own Matt Cutts: Call Your Congressman, Progress against SOPA (with video), and It’s Time to Stop Protect IP
• A lighthearted but serious look at SOPA from The Oatmeal