Domain Pricing Change
Overview of changes
We’re always looking to do things better for you, and as a regarded provider of Domain Name System (DNS) services in Australia, we at Hi Tech are committed to helping all our customers meet the Cyber Security recommendations of the Australian Government, in order to help keep your business safe. With that in mind, we are adopting the recommendations that the Australian Signals Directorate has provided to create mitigation strategies to improve the security of your DNS infrastructure. [3]
We are, and will always remain competitive not only in pricing, but also in our enduring commitment to a high standard of services. Unfortunately where previously we have absorbed certain costs for you, the cost of providing increased safety measures have now reached a point where we, as a business can no longer provide them for free. Therefore, a DNS hosting fee will now be applied to the price of all our domains. The pricing structure of our domain hosting services will change to $5.50 per month, per domain name you have. In addition, a DNS hosting fee, of $11 per month will apply. This DNS hosting fee remains the same, regardless of how many Domains you have with us.
Cyber threats are real and can be crippling to businesses of any size with an online presence. Over the last decade we, as a provider of online services have witnessed the ever-changing global cyber security environment and the challenges this brings. FY22-23 alone saw 94,000 cybercrime reports (up 23%) and the average cost of cybercrime per small ($46,000), medium ($97,200) and large ($71,600) business up 14%. [1] Cyber security practices are now at the forefront of business security compliance requirements. In 2023 the Australian Government announced the 2023-2030 Australian Cyber Security Strategy Action Plan which outlines its commitment positioning Australia as a world leader in cyber security by 2030. [2] The government has made it clear that it sees a genuine partnership across both the public and private sectors as essential to Australia’s cyber resilience.
Summary of Changes
What: Our domain pricing structure will change to $5.50 per month for all common top level domains* (.au, .com.au, .com, .net, .org). In addition, a $11 one only, per month Premium DNS hosting fee will apply. This fee will remain the same regardless of how many domains you have with us.
When: This pricing will take effect from when your next domain renews if you have additional domains, they will be added to future bills as they are due for renewal.
Why: Hi Tech has been providing enterprise grade DNS hosting and management for our clients for free behind the scenes, however, in light of ever-increasing costs, cyber security requirements and to keep our clients and your customers protected we no longer are able to absorb this cost.
Pricing Overview
Premium Managed DNS Hosting
$11 per month, inc GST (Unlimited Domains)
Domain Registration & Hosting
| Extension | Price (Monthly inc GST) |
|---|---|
| .com.au | $5.50 |
| .au | $5.50 |
| .com | $5.50 |
| .net | $5.50 |
| .net.au | $5.50 |
| .org | $5.50 |
| .org.au | $5.50 |
For other non-standard domain prices, please contact us. All domains are fully managed by HiTech Creative which means that as long as your services are hosted with us we will not charge you to make changes to your DNS or Domain records.
Pricing Examples
Jane has 2 domains (jane.com & jane.com.au)
Her monthly fee is $23 inc GST.
($5.50 per domain x 2 domains + $11 DNS hosting fee = $22)
FAQ's
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a bit like the phonebook of the Internet. Humans access information online through domain names, not IP (Internet Protocol). addresses (because they are long and hard to remember). So, we only have to remember google.com or ebay.com. Web browsers interact through Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. DNS translates domain names to IP addresses so browsers can load internet resources and humans can focus on remembering names. At Hi Tech we manage our own enterprise-grade DNS servers.
Yes. If you don’t have DNS hosting, then no one (including you) would be able to access any of your online content.
Yes. DNS is one of the many premium services that Hi Tech has managed behind the scenes for free for more than 10 years.
Our competitors have been charging high premiums for equivalent services for a long time, and although we would love to continue to provide this service for free, we unfortunately need to apply a modest fee owing to the increased associated costs.
At Hi tech we have provided DNS hosting for free for over 10 years, and we migrated all clients to enterprise grade DNS hosting for free over 5 years ago. The requirements and costs for DNS hosting have increased greatly over the years and the additional maintenance of providing quality DNS hosting is only increasing due to rapidly increasing cyber security threats and unfortunately, we can no longer continue to wear this expense.
If you don’t have adequate DNS Security (DNSSEC) then hackers can hijack your DNS and direct traffic to a phishing website or service and steal both you and your customers confidential information or funds leaving you potentially liable.
No. Be very aware, in this instance, free, does not equal quality or safety.
You may see other providers offer a ‘free’ DNS hosting service. In almost every case this ‘Basic’ or ‘Free’ DNS is often missing critical features such as security, worldwide coverage, uptime guarantees, DDoS protection or any redundancy. They often also lack the ability to modify certain important records and have limitations on the number of visits which renders them virtually pointless. It’s a bit like selling ‘free cars’. This sounds great, but when the car arrives it has no wheels, no engine, no interior, and no doors.
No. If you currently have an arrangement with Hi Tech ITworX or Hi Tech Creative which includes a free domain, you will not be charged anything.
No. If you are on the OVA Builder or OVA Care plan your domain and DNS hosting is already bundled into the cost of your subscription. Your primary domain will remain free, and you will not be charged. However, a DNS fee will apply if you have email hosting (o365) services. Also please note that if you have additional secondary domains then the ‘additional domain fee’ will apply and there will be a slight increase in the cost of these secondary domains. Although in most cases this will be a small amount.
If you have more than one domain and they are due for expiry at a different dates they will automatically appear on future invoices as they become due for renewal. Eventually all your domain fees will be consolidated into one monthly bill.
Domain: The ‘human-readable’ address for your online services, e.g. google.com
DNS: The system that connects the domain to your various online services such as emails, website, or other cloud-based services.
Web Hosting: Web hosting is the online service that enables you to publish your website on the internet.
Email Hosting: The service that stores and manages and stores your emails.
We allow an unlimited number of domains. Regardless of if you have 1 or 100 domains the DNS Hosting fee will stay at $11 per month.
No, you are welcome to move your DNS to another host and manage it yourself. BUT, please be aware that in many cases the cost will be higher, and most hosts do not offer managed DNS which means that you will need to manage this yourself.
DNS is an incredibly significant component for the security and reliability of your online services. Individuals who are taking on the management of their own DNS security and hosting should be fully trained to do so. If you require any assistance, we can offer this remotely, but it will be chargeable at our hourly rate.
Exciting New Enhancements & Service Improvements
Beginning April 2024, we will be rolling out a new system for managing and monitoring our client’s domains as well as providing improved measures around for spam filtering. These improvements are based on best practice and direct feedback from our customers.
Automatic Renewals
We’ll be monitoring wholesale notification emails for all your website, emails, or other cloud-based connected services domains, saving you time and effort. 30 days prior to your domain renewal due date, you will receive an email notification of the date of renewal and cost. If you do not want to renew your domain, you can simply cancel via the link provided, or simply do nothing, and the domain will automatically renew.
New Registrant Email Monitoring
When you need to know something, we, as your trusted source will ensure you don’t miss it.
To avoid issues with your website, emails, or other cloud-based connected services when there are any changes to your domains such as transfers, business details or records changing, we will be monitoring all registrant email addresses, for all client domains. This means we will observe these emails for you, ensuring nothing important is missed and you can safely disregard any emails regarding your domain that does not come directly from us.
New Domain Record Audit – Checking and Configuring
Due to the ever-growing risk and costs to society from scam emails and spam, email providers have now become very strict regarding the configuration of your domain records. This is causing many legitimate emails to become lost in ‘spam’ filters, which can cause important communications to be lost or even cash flow affected in the case of blocked invoices for example. Therefore, as part of our improvement to the quality of our service we will be migrating all our clients to premiums DNS hosting and undertaking an audit of all our customers primary domain records to check and configure the records (‘dmarc’, ‘spf’ and ‘dkim’). This will help ensure your important emails which come from your domain have every chance of reaching the intended recipient’s inbox.
Why is Cyber Security so Important?
“To boost cyber security, Australia must consider not only technical controls such as ASD’s Essential Eight, but also growing a positive cyber-secure culture across business and the community. This includes prioritising secure-by-design and secure-by-default products during both development (vendors) and procurement (customers).” [1]
These threats are in parallel to the increasing reliance on remote and cloud-based services. As more and more components of day-to-day business goes online, the importance of mitigating these risks falls on all of us. One area of security concern therefore is around DNS servers. In 2021 the Australian Signals Directorate released two publications which provided recommended strategies for the mitigation of domain misuse and to improve DNS infrastructure. [3]
These risks have significant implications for all businesses and individuals such as:
Business Continuity: DDoS attacks and DNS outages can take down or disrupt your online services leading to financial losses and reputational damage.
Data Breaches: Insecure DNS servers are vulnerable to DNS tunnelling and cache poisoning attacks which can lead to major breaches of sensitive information or confidential data.
Regulatory Compliance: Failure to address DNS security may lead to non-compliance with data protection regulations which in turn may lead to significant legal consequences.
Reputational Damage: Pharming attacks as a result of insecure DNS can expose not just you but also your customers to fraudulent websites. This damages your reputation and can lead to potential legal consequences.
References
[1] ASD Cyber Thread Report 2022-2023: https://www.cyber.gov.au/about-us/reports-and-statistics/asd-cyber-threat-report-july-2022-june-2023
[2] 2023-20430 Australian Cyber Security Strategy Action Plan: https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/cyber-security-subsite/files/2023-cyber-security-strategy-action-plan.pdf
[3] Domain Name System Security for Domain Owners: https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/PROTECT%20-%20Domain%20Name%20System%20Security%20for%20Domain%20Owners%20%28October%202021%29.pdf | Domain Name System Security for Domain Resolvers: https://www.cyber.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-03/PROTECT%20-%20Domain%20Name%20System%20Security%20for%20Domain%20Resolvers%20%28October%202021%29.pdf