How to Find The Owner of A Domain

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Author: Dan Krasky

Article source: http://www.articledeshboard.com/. Used with author's permission.

A reverse DNS Lookup, also known as a reverse DNS search, or an rDNS, is a form of searching service that allows you to discover the hostname or the host that is associated with an IP address or with the host's address.

In general, the Domain Name System (DNS) is what is used to discover which IP address is connected to a certain domain name. Therefore, a reverse DNS lookup provides the host and domain name information when an IP address is provided to the person who is searching.

In the case of a reverse lookup for a DNS, you may often also hear the term "reverse resolving" instead of the more precise term "reverse DNS lookup". These reverse DNS lookups are accomplished by way of a reverse IN-ADDR entry which is applied by way of a PTR record format.

Reverse DNS lookups are most commonly used for the following reasons:

• To assist in network troubleshooting in the same way that tracerouting and pinging is helpful with network support. They were especially useful for SMTP e-mail, and website tools for tracking users such as in the case of internet forums.

• As a part of an anti-spam emailing technique in order to check up on the domain name of a particular sender so that it can be discovered whether they are likely connected to dialup users, home-based broadband customers, or if they have dynamically assigned addresses. Though most - though certainly not all - spam emails originate from servers which have missing "generic" reverse DNS lookup names.

• A verification in the Forward Confirmed reverse DNS (FCrDNS) format which allows for a style of authentication that is linked between the owner of the server provider of an IP address and the owner of a domain name. Though this technique isn't entirely meticulous, it is an accurate enough validation that it is commonly used for white-listing, as many spammers and phishers simply cannot pass this kind of a test due to their use of "zombie computers".

Dan is highly involved in consumer telephone privacy laws, and telecommunications industry regulation. A reverse DNS lookup is a much more simple process than many cell phone lookup services, unless you find the right one.