Whois service is a special network protocol designed to "read" information about a domain name. To use the service, you need to enter the domain name or IP address into the appropriate Whois line. After that, you get on the screen extended data about the domain itself in the zones ru, com and others, as well as the associated website.
The protocol is the property of ICANN, the corporation responsible for managing domain names and IP addresses. It is the key regulator in the domain industry, acting as an accrediting body for all international registrars.
There is no single centralized database in collecting and providing information about domain names. ICANN regulates this process by providing open access to information about domains of the official Whois service. This means that registrars are obliged to publish data about each registered domain, making it available to the public.
What is the Whois service for and how is it useful?
The main function of Whois domain service is the ability to quickly and for free check whether a domain is available for registration. If the information is missing in the Whois database and does not appear in the results of the occupancy check, it means that the domain is free for registration.
Whois is also popular as a source of information about the domain itself. It provides data about the domain owner, registration history and other important information: NS servers, registrar information, registration status, domain registration and expiration dates, age.
How to check a domain in Whois
Every registrar is connected to Whois, also on the Internet you can check the domain on any third-party site that is connected to the verification protocol.
Domain verification - the process is quite simple. To do this, enter the domain name or IP address in a special field and wait for the result to appear on the screen.
The information obtained from Whois can vary between registrars and domain zones.
- Domain Name Servers: DNS address of the server hosting the site.
- State: current domain status
- Person: domain owner (physical person), information about the administrator (in some cases the information may be hidden).
- Org: information about the organization (legal entity), if it is the owner.
- Registrar: the registrar company where the domain was registered.
- Admin-contact: administrator's contact information.
- Created: domain name registration date.
- Paid-til: the end date of the paid enrollment period.
- Free-til: the date on which the domain may be released if the owner fails to renew its registration.
Site Check
Whois allows you to find out information about a web resource, including information about the owner of the domain and site, whether it is an organization or an individual. They are reflected in the Person, Administrator fields, although in some cases information about the owner may be hidden. This factor depends on the rules of the specific domain zone and the administrator's order of privacy service. Also, standard Whois functions do not allow you to get detailed information about website hosting and find out the domain name by IP address.
Frequent questions
What is Whois information for?
This data may be useful when you need to contact the domain owner, site administrator or registrar for various purposes: solving technical problems, concluding domain transactions and performing other administrative procedures.
What data about the domain administrator can I find out through Whois?
You can find out the name of the domain owner, his e-mail address, phone number and other information.
Can I hide my contact information in Whois?
Yes, some registrars provide anonymization services that allow you to hide the domain administrator's contact information.
How long does it take to download a response to a Whois query?
The answer is usually given within 1-2 seconds.
Is it possible to check the age of a website via Whois?
Whois service provides information not only about the date of domain registration, but also allows you to study its history. Although when trying to determine the age of the site should take into account that the domain could have been registered long before the creation of the web resource. To get full information about the history of the site should refer to special archives - programs and services that save copies of pages in the cache.
Is it possible to check the availability of a domain through Whois service?
Yes, through Whois you can check if the domain is occupied or free for registration.
How often is the information in the Whois database updated?
This happens in real time or with a slight delay after the registrar has made the change.
Does Whois have any restrictions?
Users can learn information about the domain, but cannot use it for commercial purposes, to sell personal data or send spam. Also, no more than 120 requests per hour can be made from one IP address. This measure is aimed at combating bots that automatically access the service to use personal data.