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.

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People are Lazy. No surprises here, right? Me, You, anybody… we all have a tendency towards lethargy, and that’s something some of us choose fighting. But come on, let’s face it: some people are just too lazy for their own good… especially out here on the Internet! How many times has somebody approached you via forums, IM, mail, (etc..) asking a question that could get answered just as easily from performing a simple Google query? But no, some people just seem to prefer that you Google stuff for them!

If you’ve ever been annoyed because someone bothered you with that kind of questions, you’ll enjoy this website I’ve just found. It’s called “Let me Google That for You“…. and in case you’re wondering that’s just what it does! Here, check this for an example of how it works! And try it yourself. I hope this helps you teach a funny and insightful lesson to lazy people out there.

Popularity: 1% [?]

I’m usually not the kind of person to go around following trends just for the sake of “belonging”, or anything like that. Regardless, I do enjoy keeping up with the latest novelties, particularly when it’s concerned with new and fascinating internet applications /utilities. With that in mind, I’ve been toying with the more-than-popular micro-blogging tool that goes by the name of Twitter.

Simply put, this is a free service where users are invited to constantly broadcast their thoughts (tweets), by answering the perennial question “what are you doing now?” – using no more than 140 characters at a time. Well, the way I see it, Twitter is pretty like a public, internet-based SMS service.

While in essence using Twitter it’s not unlike scribbling on a public wall, the really cool thing about it is that it’s grown into a drastically popular public wall – Which is both a good and bad thing, depending how you look at it. But, rather than forcing you to read my babbling in order to ascertain the nature of the tweet, I’ve rounded up 4 videos that should be watched by novice and experienced twitter user alike:

What are you doing, now?

Kind of lame – but realistic – twitter song:

Interesting twitter song:

Awesome twitter parody:

Popularity: 3% [?]