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title: renting a domain
weight: 2
---

Everything that has to do with being self-sufficient in the modern world implies internet access[^1].

The most important thing one has to do if they are to expose their things into the internet is a domain name.

A domain name is a human readable address that points to a server. For example, if a server has a public address of `74.125.142.100`, then you could link that address to your domain, so that people who use your domain in a browser could get to the server you own or rent.

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Intuitively most people know what a domain name is, but don't know that you can get one.  
A common example to illustrate how domain names work is using `Google`.  
`Google` uses a server with address `74.125.142.100`, and the domain name linked to that address is `google.com`.  
Putting `74.125.142.100` takes you `Google`, just as `google.com`
{{% /hint %}}

There are many domain name providers, like [`GoDaddy`](https://www.godaddy.com), [`PorkBun`](https://porkbun.com), or others. A good rule of thumb is to check multiple providers; typically providers from the country of origin are cheaper (for example, in Greece, a good option is [`Papaki`](https://papaki.gr)).  

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In most cases the domain provider can help you stay anonymous by blocking `whois` (an authentication system for domains), and presenting themselves as the domain owner.
It is adviced for anonymity, to enable the service
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The process is extremely simple. You make an account, and look up a domain name you want, and rent it.

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It might be difficult to find a good domain name. Most domain names that are legible are already rented. There is a way to make money off of domains called 'domain flipping', where you rent domains for cheap and then auction them, so people might grab 'good' domains for this purpose.
{{% /hint %}}
[^1]: If the goal is to drop the internet completely, then this page is useless. If everything is to be run *exclusively locally*, skip to the next page. If you want nothing to do with technology, close your browser and go outside. Otherwise check other pages on the site apart from `self-sufficiency`. This section of the site is about technological autonomy.