# What is a "whois" search? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865 "2003-03-03T23:07:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/1 "2003-03-03T23:07:26Z")
In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=132420) the OP mentions that a troll who linked to his own website was caught out by a “whois” search. Can anyone tell me what this is, how and when to use it, and what information i can get from such a search? Sorry if my questions shows me up as an internet ignoramus! ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/2 "2003-03-03T23:11:41Z")
Go to any domain name registrar and you can enter the domain name in the whois search. It tells you who pays for the domain, the technical contact, etc. Of course, not everyone enters truthful information when purchasing a domain name. Go [here](https://registrar.godaddy.com/whois.asp?isc=&se=%2B&from%5Fapp=&authGuid=) and enter “[unidentity.net](http://unidentity.net)” to see my info. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/3 "2003-03-03T23:12:58Z")
(BTW, the info you get on my whois does NOT contain my home address, just to make things clear.) ---
**Author:** ![jonfromdenver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/82dd89/32.png) [@jonfromdenver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jonfromdenver)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/4 "2003-03-03T23:18:23Z")
It shows info for a registered domain name. This info includes: The Domain Name The IP addresses of the Primary and Secondary Server Original Creation Date of Registration Expiration date of Registration Name and Postal Address of the Registrant Name and Postal Address of Technical Contact Name and Postal Address of Administrative Contact It gets a little confusing because there are many domain registrars and they all have different databases. You can telnet directly to a whois server, but it’s easier to try one of the many web-based whois services. Here’s a few: [http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois](http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois) [http://www-whois.internic.net/cgi/whois](http://www-whois.internic.net/cgi/whois) [http://www.whois.net/](http://www.whois.net/) [http://www.whois.sc/](http://www.whois.sc/) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/5 "2003-03-03T23:21:25Z")
**Cessandra** , I’m sort of getting it. I did that for your website, and it worked. But do you have to know with whom the person has registered their domain name? For example, the website in question in the thread mentioned in my OP was [http://www.ndeweb.com/wildcard/](http://www.ndeweb.com/wildcard/) . I tried putting that web address into the space at the link you gave me, but got nothing. Is there somewhere on each individual website that tells you where to go for whois information? I seem to be a bit thick on this issue. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/6 "2003-03-03T23:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cessandra \* > \*\*(BTW, the info you get on my whois does NOT contain my home address, just to make things clear.) \*\* That’s OK. I wasn’t planning to use it for stalking purposes. 🙂 Nor will i be in Houston anytime soon. BTW, i think **jonfromdenver** answered my follow-up. Thanks, **jon**. that made things very clear. I’ve put a couple of those links in my favourites folder. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/7 "2003-03-03T23:26:16Z")
No, if you notice, my domain is registered with a different company than the website I sent you to. The problem is that you are trying to get info on a directory of a domain – you can only do a WHOIS on the main domain. That’s “[ndeweb.com](http://ndeweb.com)” When you purchase a domain name, you pay for the base name. You can create as many directories off of that domain as you want (or, at least as much as you have space for with your hosting plan.) You can even allow other people to use those directories. But since you are only PAYING for the main name, that’s the only bit that companies have information on. ---
**Author:** ![Cessandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cessandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cessandra)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/8 "2003-03-03T23:28:43Z")
> [@](#): > > That’s OK. I wasn’t planning to use it for stalking purposes. Oh, I know. 😉 I just don’t want the mods thinking I’m giving away too much personal info. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Daerlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Daerlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daerlyn)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/9 "2003-03-03T23:46:24Z")
If you don’t know who the registrar of a domain is, another site to try is [http://www.betterwhois.com](http://www.betterwhois.com). They search (or claim to, at least) the listings of many, if not all registrars. ---
**Author:** ![micco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f8ce5/32.png) [@micco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/micco)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-whois-search/158865/10 "2003-03-04T00:05:43Z")
The site below will return the registrar and appropriate whois server for a domain name. It doesn’t give you other registration details, but it can point you in the right direction if a generic whois search fails. [http://www.internic.net/whois.html](http://www.internic.net/whois.html)