Can you find who owns domain names?
As a matter of fact, usually you can. In most cases, finding who owns domain is pretty simple and straightforward once you’re familiar with the right tools. To this effect, you just have to perform a whois lookup. This can be done through various websites… so you even get to choose your favorite; personally, usually prefer using the Public Domain Registry when for some reason I want to find out who owns certain domain names. Here’s an example, I did a whois search on this very domain to show you the results:
Domain Name: SLICES-OF-LIFE.COM Registrar: DIRECTI INTERNET SOLUTIONS PVT. LTD. D/B/A PUBLICDOMAINREGISTRY.COM Whois Server: whois.PublicDomainRegistry.com Referral URL: http://www.PublicDomainRegistry.com Name Server: NS1.DRUPALVALUEHOSTING.COM Name Server: NS2.DRUPALVALUEHOSTING.COM Status: ok Updated Date: 19-jun-2010 Creation Date: 18-jun-2007 Expiration Date: 18-jun-2011
In this case, there isn’t that much information available, because I’ve activated some privacy options while setting up the website. Regardless, you can still see where I’m hosting the domain (DrupalValueHosting, which I highly recommend for anyone looking for great quality and friendly customer service at very competitive prices); you can also see the date I created this domain (over three years, already!), as well as the expiration date.
What’s the point of searching for who owns a domain?
For some domains, running a whois query will turn down lots of additional information. You can find out the name of the person who registered the domain, and their full contact information – including address, phone and e-mail. Needless to say, there are several scenarios in which this information can be useful; such as, when you really need to buy a specific domain that’s already registered (you can contact the owner and try to make a deal), or when for some reason you want to see some behind-the-scenes information on a website you happen to like.
Well, that’s it! Now you know an easy way to tell who owns a domain. I hope this post has been useful, I thought it would be nice sharing a piece of technical trivia for a change. Let me know if you’d like to see more posts like this, or otherwise feel free to coment if you need further information on who owns domain x or y.