WHOIS is a public database or an Internet record listing which identifies the owner of a domain and their contact details. ICANN, a non-profit organization, regulates domain registration and ownership.
Over time, WHOIS records have proven to be very useful and are an essential resource for maintaining the domain name registration and website ownership process’s integrity.
The registration data stored in the WHOIS database is held in different locations, and all of it is managed by different registrars and registries. A registry owns as well as manages domain extensions, like Verisign owns .net and .com, but they do not sell them. Instead, their domains are registered and sold through different registrars like Bigrock.
Today, even the registrars offer WHOIS lookup tool to make it easy for you to search for the information and save your time.
What is WHOIS Privacy?
Though not all, many registrars offer privacy services upon the domain registration. Wherein, the information of the service provider will be provided instead of that of the user, protecting the personal details of the user. Anyone who wants to get in touch with WHOIS privacy users needs to go through the domain registrar.
However, users may not get full anonymity despite paying an additional amount for domain privacy services. If the searchers have legal documents like warrant, registration must oblige to get their information.
What All Information Can You Get from a WHOIS Record?
All the information on the WHOIS records of domains is usually collated in a database that users can ask for. Each WHOIS record provides the following information about a domain and its owner:
- Approximate domain age
- Contact email address
- Creation, last update, and the expirations dates
- Name of the registrar
- IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) identification number
- Contact information
- WHOIS server
- Domain status according to the ICANN
- Organization, state, country, and country code of the registrant
- Administrative, technical, and billing contacts’ names and information
- Nameservers
These data points are extremely useful for cybersecurity, software development, marketing, brand protection, payment processing and sales.
What are the uses of WHOIS data?
The WHOIS record data:
- Helps the cybersecurity professionals get hints to start their investigation (on domains of interest)
- Gives people an idea if a particular domain is available or not
- Aids the banks and payment processors in preventing transaction-related frauds by comparing the details of a likely fraudster with the WHOIS record of a customer
- Simplifies marketing research by allowing the users to get instant domain ownership information for the statistical analysis to customize strategies for different customers
- Allows brand agents to figure out likely trademark infringement instances like using similar domain names
- Helps the sales agents know their prospects and customers better, beginning with their contact information
Is WHOIS information accurate?
ICANN provides unlimited and easy access to the WHOIS look up tool and its database subject to the applicable laws. Registrars must submit all the data (unless it is privacy-protected) pertaining to the registered domains. The registrants who fail to provide complete and true information to their registrars can lose ownership of the domains.
Given all this, it is safe to say that WHOIS information is nearly correct, as long as the registrant provides the correct personal data. Many cybercriminals fake their actual identities and oftentimes use non-existent or shell companies.
Hope this article was helpful to you.
