The Whois Protocol
What is Whois?
Whois is a protocol used to find information about networks, domains and hosts. The whois records normally include data on the organizations and the contacts associated with these networks and domains. Read more...
Looking up IPs
The Internet address space allocation is managed by a number of different organizations. These registries provide IP allocation information through their whois servers. Read more...
Looking up Domains
The most common use of whois is for looking up domain names. This may be for checking available domain names before registering or to locate information on the domain name registrant. Read more...
Port 43
Whois servers normally accept connections on port 43. This means that your whois client should be able to transmit and receive data using this port. Read more...
High Speed Lookups
There is always a temptation to perform domain lookups at high speeds using multiple threads. If you do this you will soon start seeing outputs similar to the following... Read more...
Whois Clients
Whois clients connect to a whois server and retrieve information. Whois View is an example...Most of the time you just need a simple whois client to lookup domains or IP addresses. Whois View is the ideal solution if you are using the Windows platform. Read more...
Whois Proxy
Technically a "proxy" is a person or agency who has authority to act for another. Whois Proxies act as an intermediary between a whois client and whois servers. Read more...
Country Code Domains
There are two types of top-level domains: generic and country code. Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD) are used on a global basis and include tlds like Com, Net, org, Info, biz, Aero, etc. Read more...
Strange Whois Results
Have you tried looking up Microsoft.Com using whois.crsnic.net (or rs.internic.net)?...This is what you will get back! (edited output)... Read more...
Geographical Location & IP
An often asked question is..."Can we use a tool like Whois View or IP Lookup to determine the geographical location of a site visitor?" Read more...
Changes for ORG Domains
On January 1, 2003 the org registry operations were transferred to the Public Interest Registry. Read more...