Whois: Domain and IP lookup

WHOIS is a network protocol that is based on the TCP protocol. By default, it uses port 43 for operation. It is widely used to display information about records on the Internet (domains, ip-addresses, nickname handles), helps to determine who owns the domain and how to contact him. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regulates the registration and ownership of domain names.

WHOIS is designed to obtain information in text form about the owners of Internet objects - domains, IP addresses, nickname handles, etc.

According to ICANN rules, WHOIS data about the owner of the domain must be open and up-to-date. Fictitious data in WHOIS is one of the most common causes of domain denial of service by a registrar. WHOIS may only be used for lawful purposes. The use of data obtained from WHOIS for the purpose of sending spam, marketing offers and the like is prohibited. It is also prohibited to perform multiple requests to WHOIS for the purpose of mass collection of information.

For a number of reasons, many registrars do not enter real data about the domain owner in WHOIS, or replace contact information with their own (proxy contact). This is due to the privacy policy and protection of personal data of customers.

The management and assignment of IP addresses on the Internet is handled by the American organization - IANA. The organization is responsible for providing information about the IP address, managing the root zone in DNS, assigning ASN numbers, and other Internet numbers and symbols related to the Internet Protocol.

When registering a domain, the reliability of contact information is not checked. However, in the process of using the domain, the lack of up-to-date information about yourself may be the reason for the loss or blocking of the domain.

Along with the expiration of the domain registration period, the registrant's rights to the domain also expire. The registrar may provide a graceful renewal option after expiration, but this option is not available for many domains. At Ukrnames, most domains have a grace period of 28 days.

Once a domain is registered, in most cases the owner information is displayed in the WHOIS. There are times when data about the owner of a domain can be hidden, most often this is due to personal data protection policies.

The WHOIS protocol works without restrictions - anyone can access the data without prior authorization. Technical limits on the number of requests, IPs from which requests are allowed, the completeness of the displayed data can be set by the holder of WHOIS - Administrator or Domain Registrar.

For domain names - WHOIS contains information about the date of registration, last modification and expiration of the domain, as well as information about the domain registrar. The ICANN org encourages registrars and registries of different countries to adhere to a single format and set of data displayed in WHOIS, however, this only works for gTLDs and newGTLD domains. For ccTLDs - WHOIS format is determined by the Administrator domain zone.

For IP addresses - WHOIS contains information about the number of addresses in the block, the owner, the IP block settings (route object).

An up-to-date list of WHOIS is available on the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) website. You can find the list on the IANA website by searching for: Root Zone Database.

EPP Status Codes - reflects the status of the domain name registration. These are one or more parameters, most often seen in WHOIS, by which you can determine what is happening with the domain. EPP Status Codes are detailed and standardized in STD69 and rfc3915.

addPeriod is a status that is set automatically by the registry in the first days of domain registration (up to 5 days). During the addPeriod, some registries allow you to unregister a domain.

autoRenewPeriod is the period in which domain renewal is available after the expiration date. For most domains, the duration of autoRenewPeriod is 28 - 45 days (on Ukrnames, where it is technically possible, autoRenewPeriod is 28 days).

inactive - this is an automatic status, it shows that the domain does not have NS servers set (the domain is not active). As soon as NS servers are set for the domain, the inactive status will automatically change to ok.

The ok status means that the domain is active and working properly.

The pendingCreate status is used in domain zones where the approval of the Domain Administration is valid for registration confirmation. For example, in .UA domains where there is a requirement for the registrant to have a trademark - after filing an application for registration, the pendingCreate status is set (it can be valid from 1 to 14 days). During the pendingCreate period, the domain does not work and is in a reserved state until the application is reviewed by the Administrator.

pendingDelete - status showing the last segment of the domain registration period, when the domain is waiting for the final deletion from the registry. pendingDelete lasts 5 days. During the pendingDelete period, the domain can no longer be renewed or restored. If pendingDelete is included in the WHOIS along with the redemptionPeriod or pendingRestore status, it means that the domain can still be tried to be restored. If pendingDelete is not combined with other statuses, this means that the domain can no longer be restored.

pendingRenew is identical in purpose to the pendingCreate status. pendingRenew reflects pending action on the part of the domain zone administrator to renew the domain.

pendingTransfer - temporary status, means that a transfer (domain transfer) between registrars is currently running. Typically, the transfer takes 5 days, during which time pendingTransfer will be displayed in the WHOIS of the domain.

pendingUpdate is a temporary status that indicates that the domain name is awaiting confirmation of information update by the domain zone administrator. For .UA domains, pendingUpdate is displayed when changing the Trademark number on the basis of which the domain was registered or when the domain is pending restore, it can last up to 14 days.

redemptionPeriod is a temporary period for waiting for a domain to be restored. The duration of the redemptionPeriod is 30 days (for some domain zones it may be absent or 25 days). During the redemptionPeriod period, the domain cannot be renewed or transferred to another registrar. Only restoration at the current registrar by the registrant of the domain is possible.

renewPeriod - temporary status (up to 5 days), means that the registrar recently renewed the domain. For some domain zones, during the renewPeriod, the registrar may cancel the renewal.

serverDeleteProhibited is a status that is set by the domain zone administrator and cannot be disabled by the registrar. ServerDeleteProhibited is often used when there is a dispute over a domain name and it is required to prevent deletion from the registry. May be combined with redemptionPeriod.

serverHold is a status that is set by the domain zone administrator. With active serverHold - the domain does not work, DNS records do not respond. serverHold is set in case of violations of the domain registration rules (registry rules) or there is a decision to block the operation of the domain.

The serverRenewProhibited status is set by the domain zone administrator. If the domain's WHOIS has the serverRenewProhibited status, this means that the registrar is prohibited from renewing the domain, or the Administrator has an order to delete the domain after the registration period has expired.

serverTransferProhibited - set by the domain zone administrator. This status means a ban on transfer to another registrar. The main reasons for serverTransferProhibited are: an existing dispute over a domain name or serverTransferProhibited can be combined with a redemptionPeriod, confirming that the transfer is prohibited during the redemptionPeriod.

serverUpdateProhibited - set by the Administrator of the domain zone, means prohibition of making any changes to the domain data. The root cause of serverUpdateProhibited is: an existing dispute over a domain name. serverUpdateProhibited can be combined with redemptionPeriod to confirm that changes to the domain are prohibited during the redemptionPeriod.

transferPeriod is a temporary status that is set by the registry. transferPeriod lasts up to 5 days and displays information that the domain name was recently transferred between registrars.

clientDeleteProhibited - the status is set by the domain registrar. Used for additional protection against inadvertent deletion from the registry. If the domain has the clientDeleteProhibited status, the registry will not accept a command to delete the domain from the registrar.

clientHold - the status is set by the domain registrar. With active clientHold - the domain does not work, DNS records do not respond. Usually, the reasons for clientHold are: violation of domain registration rules, the domain has expired or is blocked due to a decision in a domain dispute.

clientRenewProhibited - the status is set by the domain registrar. Means no renewal. Reasons for clientRenewProhibited could be: a domain dispute and the Registrar is instructed to delete the domain after the registration period expires, or clientRenewProhibited is set to provide additional protection against inadvertent domain renewals.

clientTransferProhibited - the status is set by the domain registrar. clientTransferProhibited means that outbound transfer requests will be rejected. If you intend to transfer your domain to another registrar, please make sure clientTransferProhibited appears in WHOIS.

clientUpdateProhibited - the status is set by the domain registrar. Status means a ban on making any changes to the domain data. The main reason for clientUpdateProhibited is: an existing dispute over a domain name or a registrant's request to temporarily prohibit changes to a domain name.

The “autohold” status is relevant for the .DP.UA registry domains. The status indicates what will happen to the domain after the expiration date - the domain will be automatically blocked. Until the expiration date has not yet arrived, the “autohold” status does not affect the operation of the domain in any way.

The “autodelete” status is relevant for .DP.UA registry domains. The status indicates what will happen to the domain after the expiration date - the domain will automatically be deleted when the ARGP period expires. Until the expiration date has not yet arrived, the “autodelete” status does not affect the operation of the domain in any way.