Transferring a domain from one company to another normally involves the use of a unique authorization code, which different companies call an EPP key, a domain name password or an Auth code. This code can be used as a security mechanism against unapproved transfer attempts with all generic and with most country-code extensions. The code can be obtained only by the domain owner and is issued by the present domain registrar company. It must be given to the new registrar because the transfer procedure cannot be started without it. The code is case-sensitive and generally comprises of digits and special characters, so as to prevent unauthenticated individuals from breaking it. Some companies even change the codes of domains registered through them every once in a while for better security.