You're probably seeing notices in your e-mail from the Domain Update Center. They look like invoices and they say FINAL NOTICE.

They are very official-looking with bold letters across the screen saying:

IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE UNITED STATES LEGAL CODE

Delete it immediately.

The deceptive folks at domainupdates.us are just scamming you. There is nothing to lose if you ignore them. No one will take your domain.

They are trying to intimidate you into calling them and to sell you a .US domain. (They don't even give you a link - just a phone number to call, urgently.)

If you really want one, you can get a .US domain from GoDaddy for as little as $6.95.

So avoid these guys like the plague they are.

Speaking of bad domain sellers, let's talk about the good ones....

How To Be Net Savvy - and Save Money

If you're reading this, odds are that you have a website - even if it's one that comes for free with your e-mail address from your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Using their free site as your primary contact with the world is like being held hostage. What's if you're ever not satisfied with their service? You can't leave because your website and identity are there. Free holds you captive. Of course, many people have those free sites from Hotmail, Tripod or other places that throw out pop-up after pop-up to your visitors. Free is nice, but it's really, really annoying. Or you might actually have a real website. But the domain name is registered with Network Solutions ($34.99). Register.com ($35),Dotster ($15), even Yahoo ($9.95). Sheesh, that's expensive. And customer service doesn't exist. Ever try calling them for help?

Why would you pay all that much for your domain? And put up with such bad service?

GoDaddy is one of the largest domain registrars in the business, so they're secure and going to be around for a long time - and they only charge you $8.95.

Heck, if you pick up one of their additional services, you can get your own web address for as little as $3.95 And you get 24/7 customer service. When YOU need it.

The neat thing is, that using their service, you can control that domain yourself. Even an idiot like me can get into their tools and point that domain over to your free domains. Yes, that's right, you don't have to move your existing site. All you need to do is log in and click on "manage domain forwarding", then click on your domain name - and type or paste in the address of the domain you're using now.

And when you want to leave your host or webmaster, you don't have to wait until they feel like moving you, or until you're forced to pay them for work you weren't happy with - just to get your website back.

Even if you've just renewed your domain - if you move it now, they'll just add a year to your existing expiration date. And they'll only charge you $7.95to transfer your domain registrations.

Think of what a cool gift it would be to someone to give them their own name...or as incentive to start a business.

And hey, even if you sell only on eBay, wouldn't it be great to have your own page to feature some of your hot products and, then, send them over to eBay to buy it. But your regular customers will find you more easily if you have a catchy name.

Hmmm....save money, get control, have fun... and get service. I like this!