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Bust A Name: Best domain name helper ever

Here's a great way to find a domain name for your new site.

Rafe Needleman Former Editor at Large
Rafe Needleman reviews mobile apps and products for fun, and picks startups apart when he gets bored. He has evaluated thousands of new companies, most of which have since gone out of business.
Rafe Needleman

All of the good ones are taken. URLs, that is. If you've got a new business or site to set up, it can be difficult and tiresome to find a good domain name that's available. A new site, Bust A Name, makes the process go more quickly.

Bust A Name creates site URLs you can actually buy. CNET Networks

Like Squurl, which I covered a year ago, Bust A Name scans the database of registered domains as you type. You just enter in the domain you want and quickly see if it's available.

You can also type in a few words and let Bust A Name mash them together until it finds an available URL, perhaps with a cute "ster" appended on it or a dropped e-before-r. For example, to set up my fictional online dry-cleaning service, I typed in "phosphor" and "fresh," and immediately found that "freshphosphor.com" is available, as is "phosphr.com." (If you want either, be my guest--as I said, the company is imaginary.)

When you're ready to buy your name, Bust A Name will pop you over to GoDaddy or another registrar.

One downside: If you really want a name that's taken, Bust A Name won't tell you by whom, or when the registration expires.

Found on: Del.icio.us.