WHOIS is a public database that houses the information collected when someone registers a domain name or updates their DNS settings. ICANN, the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, regulates the WHOIS database. They've done so since 1982, back in the wild and wooly days of the early Internet.

Domain names are owned by whoever first registered the web address with an accredited registrar, such as Domain.com. In order for that person to maintain ownership, they have to pay registration fees and ensure that all of their contact details are up to date.

Typically, each Whois record will contain information such as the name and contact information of the Registrant (who owns the domain), the name and contact information of the registrar Registrar (the organization or commercial entity that registered the domain name), the registration dates, the name servers, the most ...