Have you ever wondered who owns a specific domain name?
I can’t say I blame you; whenever I came across a clever domain name, I’d often ponder the same thing.
There are a number of different methods for determining who owns a domain name, and I’ll go over them with you today.
Before we get started, I’d like to make it obvious that I work for Network Solutions, a company that specializes in domain registration and related services.
Let’s take a quick look at some legitimate — and some not-so-legitimate — reasons for wanting to know who owns a domain name.
Why you should find out who owns that domain:
- You want to buy it for your own personal or professional usage.
- You’ve got a completely unrelated (but important) business question for the domain name owner.
- You’ve discovered some suspicious content on the domain’s related website and want to figure out who’s behind it so you can verify the source.
- The domain’s connected website is a fraud site that phishes for personal information. You’ll find the hosting details and who to contact to report the problem when you check up the domain owner.
- You’ve got an email from that domain and are attempting to figure out who it came from.
There are a variety of good reasons to find out who owns a domain name. But what about the following reasons? Not at all.
Don’t find out who owns a domain name because:
- You like the content on their website and want to subscribe the domain owner to your unsolicited newsletters. This is known as spamming!
- You disagree with the content on their website and want to tell them how you feel in an R-rated manner. This is referred to as harassment!
- You can check up the domain name owner and hosting details to contact the service provider and report it to their legal and compliance departments if you suspect they’re breaking the law.
There are a few ways to try to figure out who owns a domain name now, but none of them are reliable. So keep that in mind when you go over the selections below.
How to Find a Domain Name Owner:
- Type the Domain in Your Browser and Hit “Enter”: You’ll be sent to the website connected with the domain name. Websites frequently have a “About” page that contains information about the company and/or site owner (s). If not, the site may have a “Contact Us” form through which you can contact the domain name owner with your question.
- Search the WHOIS database: ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, oversees all domain name registrations. They demand that specific information, such as the registrant’s name, email, mailing address, and phone number, be supplied with every domain registration. This information is saved in the WHOIS database and made public through a WHOIS lookup.
Private Domain Registration, on the other hand, allows domain name owners to keep their information private and out of the WHOIS directory.
Don’t worry if the WHOIS results can’t help you figure out who owns the domain name. The contact email address provided in the search results can still be emailed. As long as the request is authentic and not spam, it will almost certainly be routed to the domain owner. I hope you found this information useful. If you found this answer useful, or if you have any suggestions for others to try, please leave a comment.
