DNSSEC: Detect Forged or Altered DNS Answers
Continue through the next layer of the domain-to-browser path.
Read the guide →Plain-English security
What is a domain transfer lock, and why check it first?
A transfer lock is a free setting at your domain registrar that blocks your domain from being moved to another registrar until you explicitly unlock it. It's the cheapest protection in the entire scan, and it guards against the worst outcome: a stolen domain takes your website, your email, and your online identity with it — all at once.
Why this one punches above its weight
Every other protection guards something on your domain. This one guards the domain itself — the thing everything else sits on. If your site goes down, you fix the site. If your domain is transferred away, your website vanishes, your email stops arriving (or worse, arrives somewhere else), the password-reset emails for every service you use go to the attacker, and you're in a recovery dispute measured in weeks while your business is dark.
How domains actually get stolen
Usually not by breaking into the registry. It's a phished registrar password or a hijacked email inbox, followed by a quiet transfer request. The lock is what makes “quiet” impossible: a locked domain refuses the transfer until someone with account access deliberately unlocks it, which creates a step you'll notice.
Related and worth doing the same day: put two-factor authentication on the registrar account and on the email address it uses. The lock protects the domain from outside; that inbox is the master key from inside.
The setting that's silently off more often than you'd think
Most registrars enable a basic lock by default now — but not all, and it can be quietly off on domains that were ever transferred between registrars. The transfer process requires unlocking, and re-locking afterward is the step people miss. That's the exact case the scan catches.
Check your own site in 30 seconds
The free WolfWarden scan reads this — plus seven other fundamentals — from public information and grades it in plain English. Nothing to install. Ordinary results may be cached briefly to prevent abuse; no lasting report is created unless you choose to share one.
Run the free scanCommon questions
Is a transfer lock the same as domain privacy?
No. Privacy hides your contact details from the public record. The transfer lock stops the domain from being moved to another registrar. Both are worth having; they protect different things.
Can a transfer lock stop my domain from expiring?
No — expiration is a separate risk. A locked domain that isn't renewed still lapses and can be bought by anyone. Auto-renew with a working payment method covers that side.
Will the lock cause problems if I switch registrars later?
No. You unlock it yourself when you're ready to move, transfer, then lock again at the new registrar. It only blocks transfers you didn't initiate.
If you'd rather not manage this
The relevant service page explains what WolfWarden can handle, what the public scan cannot see, and where a managed plan or focused project fits.