Look Up Your Dns Records
Next, lets look at your DNS records and find out where the website and email is being hosted.
Head over to DNSChecker.org and enter your domain name.
Heres what it looks like for tonyherman.com:
Heres a guide on how to read this:
- The A record is the IP address of the website hosting
- The MX records define where your email is hosted
Those are the main records you need to know. The TXT records are used for validating domain ownership with different services or sometimes for certain email hosts. PTR and SRV are mainly used for some email hosting as well. And CNAME records are also for website hosting, like the www version of your website or other sub-domains you might have.
Now, with an IP address, youre only getting half of the story because DNS is really for computers to turn domain names into IP addresses so they can go get what they need. So, to find out whats really going on, you need reverse that and find out who owns the IP address block that is mentioned.
At this point, you know:
- Where the domain is registered
- Where the DNS is hosted
- The IP address of the website hosting
- The IP address or host for email
What To Do If Your Domain Name Expires
In case your domain name expires, you should contact the registrar that provided your domain name registration services for possible renewal options available to you. To determine your current registrar, conduct a WHOIS search by visiting whois.icann.org, as we already explained in the post.
Note: Keep all your important business information permanently recorded somewhere safe. That includes your registrar name, login username, password, and domain management somewhere with your most important business papers. Ensure that all your information is properly added when registering your domain name.
How To Find Your Domain Name Registrar: Whois Search
I Cant Remember Where I Purchased My Domain Name! Who is my Registrar
Update: This article explaining how to use whois search to was written in 2006 and has been updated with a photo illustration because it is one of the most popular articles on the site and continues to attract visitors 11 years after publication.
It wasnt until my third client had called asking how to regain control of her domain namethat I realized that it was a common problem for small business webmasters to forget where they had registered their domains. WHOIS my registrar? Why didnt I get an email about renewal? Why did my site stop working today?
People rarely realize how important it is to keep their domain registrar notified of changes to their email address and and other contact information. The registrar will send renewal notifications to the email address last on file. For most domain owners, the only time they think about contacting a registrar is the day they reserve their domain name. If they move to a new city and get a new internet service provider, it doesnt occur to them that the old email address will change and that meeans that the registrar can no longer contact them through the previous address, or phone or fax as each of them change and we rarely notify the controller of our domain of those changes.
The following URL leads to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers discussing the grace period and redemption period rules it enforces.
Domain Name: google.com
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My Domain Provider Is Unreachable
June 29, 2017 | domain-management
If you can no longer contact your Domain Provider, or they are not providing the support you need, were here to help.
Tucows can only intervene when a Domain Provider violates ICANN policies. This includes situations where a Domain Provider goes out of business, is continually unresponsive, or fails to provide you with access to your account for domain management.
Please note, if you havent already done so, its in your best interest to reach out to your Domain Provider before you contact us regarding any issue. Because they maintain your account, they can often provide the fastest solution.
If your domain provider falls into one the cases above and is permanently unreachable, please contact our Compliance team so we can follow up.
This entry was posted in domain-management on June 29, 2017 by Haley Midgette.
Browse By Products And Services
- Tools Required: Account Center access, Web browser
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Use Whois Or Icann Lookup
In case you are unable to find your billing records, you can search for your domain registrar online. Simple WHOIS inquiries will tell you what the registrar knows about your domain name. The WHOIS domain database is a listing of all registered domains and is regularly used for various legal purposes.
Typically, public WHOIS records show the domain owners contact email, street address, phone, and fax numbers. Thats unless the owner is using a domain privacy feature such as IDProtect.
Additionally, a WHOIS service will also show the current registrar, DNS servers, and the domain names creation and expiration dates. To find out who your domain registrar is, you can use a WHOIS service such as who.is. Follow the steps below:
- Input your domain name in the bar above your displayed IP address
- On the results page, see the information in the Registrar Info block. You will find your domain registrars name, along with their website.
Alternatively, you can use ICANN Lookup to find your domain name registrar:
- In the search field, enter your domain name
- Click on Lookup
- On the results page, scroll down to Registrar Information:
GDPR WHOIS Specifics
The impact of GDPR is being felt not only by businesses and individuals. GDPR also has influence over security researchers, investigators, and those who offer security products and services that rely on WHOIS data. GDPR impacts everyone who processes EU personal data.
Country-Code Domain WHOIS Specifics
Domain Name Resellers
How To Evaluate A Hosting
Uptime
A generous uptime guarantee backed by reasonable terms of service is a good indication of a hosting provider who will work hard to keep your website online.
Speed
Speed is everything! The faster the site, more traffic and conversions and more income to your business.
Support
This is a very important factor! How fast is that support? Is it supported by SysAdmins or is it outsourced?
Price
Some hosting promote their prices on 3-year plans and they look much cheaper, but on a year plan, it looks very different.
Dev toolkit
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Re: How Do I Find My Domain Name Provider
I am having the same problem, trying to do the below but can’t find out where? –
Recommended: Domain name providerSign in to your domain name provider.
Follow the steps below to create a DNS record that proves to Google that you own the domain.
1. Add the TXT record below to the DNS configuration for .
2. Click Verify below.
When Google finds this DNS record, we’ll make you a verified owner of the domain.
To stay verified, don’t remove the DNS record, even after verification succeeds.
Note:
Best Web Hosting Services
Your website needs servers to make it available online. Your web host provides and maintains reliable servers that ensure your visitors have constant access to your site. Theyll also act as your domain registrar and register your domain name and IP address with ICANN. Here are the top five web hosts you should consider:
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Domain Is Available For Registration
If the results show that your domain is available and not registered anywhere yet, be sure that youve correctly entered your sites URL. Try to copy it from your domain registrar directly.
Other than that, its also possible that the WHOIS lookup tool you use shows you the outdated information. Thats common if youve entered a newly registered domain. If this is the case, try using another WHOIS lookup tool.
Who Is My Email Provider
To find out, you should do a DNS lookup and look at the MX record. The MX record tells you where the email portion of your domain is handled. Do a search on the domain listed there to find out who your email provider is.
Since the company hosting your website may or may not be hosting your email, it might be a little confusing to track down who an email host / provider really is. Add to that these numerous spam/junk email cleaning services out there, who temporarily get your email to clean it up and then send it back to you and figuring out who an email host is can be downright confusing.
This article gives some tips and ways to find out where an email address is hosted. Im giving you the non-geek ways first and then the geek ways. Both get you about the same results so that you know where your domain names email is hosted.
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How Do I Find The Best Available Domain Name
If you have an idea for the name you want, start by searching for that. If the name isnt available, well show you our best recommendations for similar, available domain names. Or, if you dont have a specific domain name in mind, just type in keywords that describe your website or project, hit search, and check out the suggestions.
Uncovering Secrets With Dns
Every domain has DNS info that is public. You can browse this on many sites but I like to use leafdns.com. DNS is what points domain services to different servers like pointing your email to Google and your website to Bluehost. This may not tell you who owns your domain but it can tell you HOW your domain is being used which may be an important step in recovering your website files if youve lost those in addition to the domain. I often use this when Im on a call and a prospect doesnt even know where their site is hosted. It makes me look really smart!
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What Does The Whois Information Mean
The who is hosting this tool gives information about a website or domains:
- Hosting provider: Company that manages the servers on which a businesss website information is stored. To create a website for your business, youll need to choose a provider to host your website, then it will be available online.
- IP address: Every device connected to the internet has an IP, or internet protocol address. The IP address in the web hosting checkers results is the IP address for the server who is hosting the website.
- Owner details: Detailed contact and location information about the owner of a domain or website. While ownership details are sometimes private and hidden, some contact information is usually provided.
- Nameservers: Nameservers work behind the scenes, translating domain names into IP addresses. When you type Digital.com into your browser, a nameserver tells your device which IP address to connect to.
Whats The Difference Between Domain Extensions
Arguably, the most popular domain extension is .com, but other TLDs include .net, .org, .edu and .gov. There are literally hundreds more from which you can choose, and the less popular extensions are usually less expensive, with a few exceptions. The popularity of .io and .co has skyrocketed recently, so theyre pricier.
Some extensions are restricted and you cant purchase them unless you meet certain requirements. Restricted extensions include .edu and .gov. Overall, all extensions work the same. The .com extension is preferable because its easy to remember.
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What Do The Different Domain Extensions Stand For
The most popular domain extension, .com, stands for commerce. Other commonly seen ones include .net for network, .org for organization, .edu for education, .gov for government, .info for information, .biz, for business, . mil for military and .pro for professional. Many countries also have domain names that end in letters related to them, such as .UK for the United Kingdom, .ru for Russia and .cn for China. Some less-common domain extensions include .aero for the air transport industry, .museum for museums, .name for individuals, .coop for cooperatives and .travel for businesses in the travel industry.
Find Your Dns Hosting Provider
Note
Only domains ending in .COM, .NET, and .EDU work with this tool.
On the InterNIC search page, in the Whois Search box, type your domain. For example, contoso.com.
Select the Domain option, and then select Submit.
On the Whois Search Results page, locate the first Name Server entry.
Copy the name server information that appears after the colon , and then paste it into the Search box at the top of the page. Select Nameserver, and then select Submit.
On the Whois Search Results page, locate the Registrar entry. This entry lists your DNS hosting provider, the DNS provider who owns the name server for your domain.
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Identify Your Hosting Provider
To identify your hosting provider, perform the following actions:
Additional Documentation
Do A Whois On The Domain
The first place to always check is the whois record for your domain name. This lookup will tell you where the domain name is registered and where the DNS is.
Head over to lookup.icann.org and enter your domain name.
This resource is good because it clearly shows all the information you need to know:
Notice the nameservers section and the registrar information.
The registrar is where you registered the domain name. In this case, its with Wild West Domains, which is a reseller for GoDaddy.
With the domain name servers , this is where all the records are kept saying which parts of the domain name go where. Theres a host for DNS. The host may be at the same place you registered the domain, with your hosting company, or somewhere else.
If you ever move your website to another hosting company, you need to check where DNS is hosted. If its hosted with your old website host, they may stop hosting your DNS for you, which will bring down your website and email.
There are sometimes tricky names for DNS hosts. For example GoDaddy uses DOMAINCONTROL.COM for their DNS hosting. Most people dont know that DOMAINCONTROL.COM is GoDaddy. If youre not sure who the DNS host is, then go back to the top and enter the domain name found under the nameservers to find out more about that host.
For example, if the nameservers show up as:
NS19.DOMAINCONTROL.COM NS20.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
Why are there 2 nameservers?
What youll do is remove the first part of the domain , which is:
NS19.
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Find Out More About Those Ip Addresses
Now, to find out more about those IP addresses, you need to do a reverse DNS lookup. Again, since DNS turns a domain into an IP address, you need to reverse that since were following the trail backwards.
In our example, the IP address for tonyherman.com is 34.230.210.117. Lets head over to MXToolbox and do that lookup:
The result is that its showing my website is hosted at:
ec2-34-230-210-117.compute-1.amazonaws.com
but thats not actually true. In a lot of cases, this will give you the final answer but Im using a CDN called Ezoic, which helps speed up my website and they are using the Amazon Cloud to support their network. So this is a little bit of a dead end for this example . If you end up in this case, there may be a workaround.
If this applies to you, then go to SecurityTrails and do the same lookup in their historical DNS records.
There, we can see the 67.192.51.67 IP address, which is at our host, Rackspace, and thats where the site is actually hosted. You can set your computers host file to check this if you want.
At this point, you know:
- Where the domain is registered
- Where the DNS is hosted
- The IP address of the website hosting
- The IP address or host for email
- The website host
How To Choose The Best Web Hosting Company For Your Website
Our website host checker can help you to come out with some options for your website. The offers are numerous. The best web hosting companies have few issues with uptime and ensure a fast page loading. Besides, they provide 24/7 customer support, efficiently coping with any problems. And all that comes at a relatively reasonable price.
But which web hosting services are the best for your needs? A student might need something cheap with basic options and, perhaps, monthly plans. For an e-commerce business, reliability and speed matter much more. Entrepreneurs may also pay attention to free domain name offers the availability of the content management systems, such as WordPress.
Weve done extensive research for you to make a choice easier. Here are the articles, which may help:
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