I know this to be true as a Search Engine Optimization Specialist because people will come to me with their link building schemes where they buy a bunch of domains, throw up a bunch of one-way links to their site and think it’s all hidden from Google because they are hidden by that proxy. I then have the unfortunate duty to inform them that Google purchases and may in fact own the data at the icann level which means they see right through that proxy.

Anywho, I wanted to share a little toy we placed on our site for people searching for domain names. It allows them to search in real time what’s available without the pesky submit button and pageloads. Check it out if you are searching for a domain name, it’s free of course! http://www.eleganceindesign.com/domains.html

Cheers and great post.
Mike

But my understanding is that this “holding” is accpmplished by listing themselves as the registrant, which means that the domain is actually registered to them, not you. This may be fine with large, established registrars, but it just makes me a little uneasy. Perhaps I’m overly cautious.