What Is WHOIS? What You Need Know About WHOIS Lookup
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WHOIS is a public database of domain registration and contact information. WHOIS simply combines 2 popular words WHO and IS to ask the question “Who Is The Owner Of This Domain Or IP Address?”
When a domain name is registered, the details of the owner are made available on a database usually referred to as the WHOIS database. The global WHOIS database is managed by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
To lookup the details of the owner of the domain or IP address you simply conduct what is called a WHOIS lookup.
WHOIS Lookup
As stated earlier WHOIS lookup is the process of searching for the details of the owner of a domain name or IP address.
The tool used to do this is called a WHOIS lookup tool. It’s a perfect tool for checking the domain name owner or looking up the identity of an individual through an IP address.
Domain WHOIS Lookup Simplified
To make it really simple, a WHOIS lookup tool gives you access to the internet’s directory of domain names. Every registered domain or website is recorded in a directory and information related to its registration can be found on it. The WHOIS tool provides access to this directory and results can be obtained in an instant.
Why You May Need A WHOIS Look Up
WHO IS lookup is usually used to get the details of a domain owner or IP Address but reasons for conducting lookups vary from one person to another.
Below are a couple of popular uses …
Uses Of WHOIS
Domain Ownership Verification
WHOIS is very useful in verifying who owns a domain name. This can come in handy when tracking down domain owners or resolving domain name disputes.
Domain Name Brokerage
The business of buying and selling domains is now a huge one.
Domain name brokers can use WHOIS data to identify potential buyers and sellers.
IP Address Tracking
WHOIS can be used to trace an IP address to confirm the location of the user and even get contact details. This can help network administrators identify potential security threats.
Market Research
WHOIS data can be useful for market research. With such data, business owners can identify potential customers and even competitors.
Criminal Investigations
Data from WHOIS lookup can be used law enforcement to track down people involved in illegal activities.
How Exactly Does A WHOIS Lookup Work?
When you conduct a WHOIS lookup, you provide the domain or IP address of interest and you get the details associated with it.
What happens is that the WHOIS database is queried and the ownership information on record is made available to you.
Accuracy Of Results
The major challenge in conducting a WHO IS lookup is getting accurate results. Many if not all domain registrars offer their customers an extra service called Domain WHOIS Privacy or Private Registration. This extra service hides the actual contact details of the customer while presenting that of the registrar. So if you conduct a lookup you may not get the real details of the owner but the privacy feature details of the registrar.
Once your lookup returns details without the actual name and address of the owner but you see something like “REDACTED FOR PRIVACY” in the raw WHOIS data, you have hit the WHOIS Privacy roadblock.
Registry Registrant ID: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Name: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Organization: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant Street: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant City: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
Registrant State/Province:
Registrant Postal Code: REDACTED FOR PRIVACY
That being said not everybody uses this feature so you should still be able to get satisfying results when conducting a WHO IS lookup.
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