As the cost of doing business online is almost negligible and advantages are many, it is becoming more and more common for many companies to make an online presence and reach out to as many consumers as possible. It is in fact true that online business reduces about 70% of the cost of doing business but it is certainly not cost free. One of the most important and necessary expenses of online presence is the registration of a domain name. And when it comes to a publically registered domain name, Whois is something that everywhere should be aware of.
Whois allows one to associate the domain name to a specific owner. It basically handles the registration of the sites and hence the material available on the internet. Other information regarding the authenticity of the material available on the site can also be known. It has a variety of pros and cons attached to it.
Benefits of Whois
Availability of complete and authentic information:
While registering for a domain name, Whois makes it a requirement for the registrant to enter a complete detail on such personal aspects as name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number and other necessary contact information. After this information is recorded and made public to anyone who wants it through a Whois search. It can help one to provide data on already existing and registered domain names. In this way one can know if the domain name is already in use or not.
Opportunity to use expired domains:
Whois also provides information on the expiration date of several domain names whose information is outdated. These expired names can be used by others as well. Hundreds of domain names expire due to this reason and provides others with an oppourtunity to buy these names at low prices.
Protection of personal information: (Whois privacy)
When registering for a domain name and making the personal information public to everyone there arises the issue of privacy and confidentiality. One way to protect such information is through enabling the Whois privacy. Once enabled it not only protects your personal information but also helps you to get rid of spam messages. Moreover, Whois privacy is an effective way to avoid hijacking of domain names, which has become a serious problem for many people.
Downsides of Whois
Downside of Whois privacy:
If activated it sometimes gives the users an image that you are trying to hide information because you want to hide something. And this sure is happening. Through the feature of Whois privacy many people that are using illegal websites to conceal their basic information and avoid getting into some law and order trouble can manage to get away. Moreover, with hidden information it becomes really difficult for the buyers to contact the right person and at times to authenticate the information available on the website.
Incorrect information:
Even though information is readily available through this search, it often happens that the registrant forgets to update it and the data remains outdated and old. Other than that there is no proper and authentic way to check if the information entered by the registrant is correct or deceptive. Moreover, because of the option of private listings it becomes easy for registrants to conceal their private information from the public and use domain names for illegal purposes.
From the very start when internet was in its evolutionary stage, domain registration was handled by a centralized system but in 1999 Whois was formed with multiple servers dealing with a wide variety of domain names registration. Although it is less time consuming than the old system, it sure does have certain pros and cons attached to it.
Author Bio:
Samith Jhon is currently working on a project which is “electronic cigarette” based on Consumer satisfaction. The project site is really based on the consumer ratings of the E cigarette.