Domain analysis instruments and Whois services
Until 25 of May 2018 when the EU introduced General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) you could find domain name holders contacts using any Whois service. This information is needed in many cases: to buy over the domain, to file a complaint or transferring the domain to another registrar. These processes got more complicated now. We expect that the option of displaying the domain owner’s contact information in Whois will be returned soon and we will be able to choose if we want it displayed for our domains.
Apart from the mentioned above, you can also check the domain registration, renewal, expiration date and much more using a Whois service. You will be able to see the hosting servers but not the hosting provider. Hosting company’s servers might have obvious names like ns1.namecheaphosting.com and ns2.namecheaphosting.com, so it is clear that the domain is pointed to Namecheap’s servers. This is why most domain holders use CDN services that hide the nameservers from Whois lookup. All you can see are the default CDN company’s nameservers.
We have created a list of most popular resources providing Whois lookup and other useful instruments allowing to trace domain contact changes, IP addresses, etc.
№1 - ICANN WHOIS
This is a WHOIS service by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. Hence any information on this resource is the most reliable.
№2 - IANA WHOIS
A service provided by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority. Apart from domain contacts, they provide the option to check the IP addresses and AS numbers (Autonomous System Number).
№3 - WHOIS.COM
A simple and straightforward service that allows to check the Whois information on a domain name or IP address.
№4 - WHOIS.NET
Even simpler than the previous service, allows checking Whois information by the domain name only.
№5 - WHO.IS
First and foremost, this service allows you to check the domain contacts as well as IP address check. On top of that, it provides you with your current IP address.
№6 - DOMAINTOOLS.COM
This service allows checking information by domain name or IP address.
№7 - REG.COM
A whole toolset of services that allows to check the domain Whois and Whois history, nameserver history and more. Most of the services are paid though.
We highly recommend not to purchase the cheapest hosting package. Usually, they come with a row of issues: the server is often down, the hardware is outdated, lousy and slow support, registration and payment errors, etc.
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CMS is a content management system. A lot of hosting providers offer so-called CMS optimized packages. However, this is a marketing trick because most CMSs do not have special software or hosting requirements.
Trial period is a period of time, usually from 7 to 30 days, during which you can use the hosting services for free to test them.
Moneyback policy allows the customer to receive a refund for his order within a certain period after the purchase.
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Bulletproof hosting - it’s a type of service that allows to host almost any type of content, even the restricted one (adult content, warez, spam etc). Bulletproof hosting providers do not remove your content in case someone reports an abuse.
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Most websites require MySQL and PHP installed on the server to work correctly. Almost all hosting providers support these technologies.
ASP.NET is a Microsoft web application development platform.
The more comfortable the control panel is, the easier will it be for you to change the website and hosting account settings.
Most hosting providers that are in TOP20 in our rating offer user-friendly control panels, such as cPanel, Plesk or DirectAdmin. That’s why we recommend to pay attention to other, more important parameters, while choosing a hosting provider.