If you are about to start the process to register your own domain name, it is best to start everything knowing in advance what it consists of WHOIS, which will help you gain visibility and keep your new record always active.
Additionally, by knowing everything related to this protocol, you will know how to handle yourself when you need to get information about any other domain name and his or her managers.
In this article we explain in detail everything about WHOIS, so that you know in depth how this service works, and learn how to use it correctly.
What is WHOIS and what is this Internet protocol for?
The service WHOIS, From the English “Who Is”, it is a transmission protocol (TCP) that works under the modality request and response. By acting as a large database, where a very high percentage of the information related to domain registrars is stored, it helps us to know who owns a domain name or an IP address on the Internet. Until recently, all information stored on servers WHOIS it was publicly available.
Besides free, for all those interested in knowing all the data of the domain owners. However, there is currently a kind of legal limbo, due to the entry into force of the General Regulation for Data Protection (RGPE) in 2018. Notwithstanding the latter, WHOIS still holds as the main tool for domain registrars, so it is best to keep reading to find out other important questions related to the subject.
History and Origin of WHOIS When and for what was it created?
To know the WHOIS origin, it is necessary to move to 1982, when the IETF (acronym in English for Internet Engineering Workforce), made public its protocol of directory service. In its beginnings it was dedicated to exclusive use between network users ARPANET, for whom the protocol was created, which means that the directory only contained the data requested from people who transmitted through the aforementioned network.
So we get to 1998, year in which the I CAN, a corporation in charge of assigning names and numbers on the Internet, in addition to their domain registrars, who from that moment took over everything related to the service. The following year, the I CAN began to give licenses for other entities could offer services as domain name registrars, marking a milestone in the provision of the same.
WHOIS vs DNS What is the difference between both systems?
There are some differences between the protocols WHOIS Y DNS, which is good to have in mind for avoid confusions between one and another. A better understanding of these differences will help you make correct use of the first one. The first thing we must see is that the DNS (Domain Name System) works as a huge distributed and hierarchical database, which facilitates each user search for IP addresses of other computers.
As we well know, IP addresses are made up of numbers difficult to memorize, for which the use of domain names has become necessary. This is where DNS comes into play, translating the numbers from the IP to those names. In this way, it is easier for us to connect with various websites for, among other things, gain agility in the use of email servers on the Internet.
But WHOIS goes beyond that as it allows you to get all the information you need to know about the owner or administrator of the referred domain name. This is because the bases of WHOIS, are under the responsibility administrative registry of registrars and registries, and in these databases appear the contact details of each domain name used legally.
Make Queries in WHOIS What ways are there to do it?
As we have said before, the WHOIS protocol is request / response based, so it is good to know the kind of answer that you receive after each of your inquiries. That will depend on the form of storage used by each particular server, which may be in the form dense or light. In this sense, you can make inquiries using the WHOIS clients of command line, allowing to obtain more data in a single query.
Many prefer to perform the procedure in the simplest way that exists, which consists of enter the official site http://whois.icann.org, write down the name of a domain, and then click on “Search for”. Another way to do it is through web clients, which in most cases only store the type of light information, and in common cases they act as intermediaries between the user and the command line client.
What are the requirements to be able to use WHOIS?
All those who wish to register a domain name, regardless of whether they are individuals or companies, must be aware of their obligation to provide technical and contact details that will be included in the database of WHOIS. These data must meet certain requirements, starting with the accuracy thereof. This means that said data must be accurate and true.
Likewise, it must be taken into account that 7 days deadline to complete the requested data, a period that begins to run from the moment the domain name registration request has been made. In this section we will not fail to mention the importance of maintaining updated domain data, this every time the need to change the information for any circumstance arises.
What kind of data about a website can we find in WHOIS?
Although, as stated above, the RGPD establishes some limitations in this regard, as a general rule in each query or request we can obtain information such as the following:
- Name of the domain
- Name of the registrar
- Administrator ID domain name
- Name and email from the administrator
- ID technical
- Facts about DNS used
- Url of the registrar
- Creation date domain name
- Expiration date of the name record
We must also refer to that everyone has the right to maintain data privacy, for which it has two methods to prevent anyone else can access them.
One of them is to subscribe to a privacy service, with which, although everyone can know who is the owner of the domain, data such as the phone number and postal address they will be hidden. The other is through the proxy proxy service, which is when the service provider appears as the owner of the domain name, leaving the client as a licensee of the same. In this way, whoever requests information about the domain name, will only see reflected the provider data in the responses.
Uses and applications What can we use the WHOIS system for?
The possible uses and applications with WHOIS they serve you for a variety of tasks.
Therefore, to end this article, we leave you with some of them:
- Know if the domain name What do you plan to register? available.
- Solve technical problems contacting network administrators.
- Contact the owner of a domain name, in case you wanted establish some kind of business with the.
- Know the expiration date of a domain, thus being able to establish contact with its owner in case this want to sell it.
- If you own intellectual property assets, you can contact who you consider has violated your rights about them.
- Know the origin of all email not wanted.