Using DNS Lookups
There may be times when you locate a site but want to know more about it. Perhaps you want to locate the person who owns the site or you are interested in other information that a DNS lookup may help you to find. A DNS lookup is simply a way for you to use the information you know, which typically is the URL of the site, to find out information about it. The primary place to perform a DNS search is a Whois registry, which you can find online. This registry will tell you a few things about the DNS lookup you are investigating. First it will tell you when someone purchased the site and when the registry expires. Second, it will tell you the name of the person who purchase the site as well as that person’s server location.
Needing Reverse DNS Lookups
In many instances, you can find out an address and phone number from a DNS lookup, which many people think is a violation of privacy and leaves one open to problems. To solve this issue, some people now purchase private domain registrations. Perhaps you already know the IP address of the server, however. You want the name of the URL associated with that address. You want to run a reverse DNS lookup to find the information you need. The DNS reverse lookup will tell you where certain hits from your site are coming from and can give you information on sites that may want to remain under close cover. Running these lookups is free and can be done online almost instantaneously.
Researching DNS Errors
Perhaps you have a problem when you are trying to run a DNS lookup or find other information about a site. You may do a DNS error Google search. These searches are really valuable, especially if you can input the exact error you receive. Many forums about DNS will have folders for errors, and you can find the information you need in many of them. Instead of just trying to figure out what went wrong on your own, you can get some level of expertise from people who have a clearer picture of what went wrong in your search. Try to verify any information you find so that you can be sure that you are using reliable information. Sometimes others may post what they think an error means, but you find out the hard way that they were incorrect.