msgr hopeful: Finding who hosts a domain name

New Member

Join Date: Nov 2012

Posts: 1

Hi there,

i am wondering how to find out what company hosts my web domain name. it was registered by a former colleague who is no longer with the business but who has the password for the website. Is there any way i can find out who the domain is registered with and how to go about changing permissions for access to editing the site?

Thanks in advance

Premium Member

Join Date: Mar 2011

Location: England

Posts: 357

You can use http://whois.domaintools.com/ to find out where the domain is registered, you will see it under "Registrar"

The easiest way to get ownership if the account is to get the ex colleague to transfer it over to yourselves, if this is not an option I'm sure you can talk to the registrar of the domain.

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Last edited by TekHive; Yesterday at 06:47 PM.

Web Hosting Master

Join Date: Apr 2011

Location: Fairfax, California

Posts: 1,216

whoishostingthis.com
who.is

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WHT Addict

Join Date: Dec 2011

Posts: 152

The easiest way is to find the registrar as above, sign up for a free account with the registrar, then ask your ex-colleague to push the domain name to your account there.

I understand life's not always that simple. You might have to remind him that theft is a crime that police prosecute. You might even be able to get a nice copper to have a chat with him if it comes to that. If even that doesn't work you might be able to get a mean one to talk to him.

As techhive said, the registrar will probably sort if for you if necessary as well. It would help if you have proof that the name was originally bought with company funds (credit card receipt, etc).

I don't understand that some people think the web is outside the law (or that they can leave their morality at the login screen).

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Web Hosting Master

Join Date: Oct 2010

Posts: 1,561

Since when is it a crime to not transfer a domain and hosting account that is in your name? I wouldn't go threatening someone who holds the keys to your brand.

WHT Addict

Join Date: Dec 2011

Posts: 152

Quote:

Since when is it a crime to not transfer a domain and hosting account that is in your name? I wouldn't go threatening someone who holds the keys to your brand.

If it was paid for with a company credit card it's company property, isn't it? Do you leave a job and take your desk with you?
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Web Hosting Master

Join Date: Oct 2010

Posts: 1,561

Then it should be registered under the company name not an employee name.

Junior Guru Wannabe

Join Date: May 2012

Posts: 89

Yes, you can use whois.domaintools/yourdomain to find your registrar.

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Junior Guru Wannabe

Join Date: May 2012

Posts: 89

Yes, you can use whois.domaintools.com/yourdomain to find out your registrar

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Junior Guru Wannabe

Join Date: Mar 2012

Location: Klang Valley, Malaysia

Posts: 50

Quote:

Then it should be registered under the company name not an employee name.

Seriously not everyone's tech savvy enough to realize this.

Something like this probably happened:

Boss: Hey Johnson, get us a company .com for website and email stuff.
Johnson: Ok boss.

Moments later after Johnson buys the setup with his own name...

Johnson: Hey boss, I got the thing setup for the company, here's the receipt for claims.
Boss: Ok great. I guess that's settled then.

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Computer Janitor & Network Plumber

Web Hosting Master

Join Date: Apr 2011

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Posts: 724

Quote:

Thanks in advance

All the answers so far have been advice on finding out where the domain is registered, not who is hosting it.

If the web host is handling DNS then just looking at the nameservers at the registrar might be enough, but DNS addresses can be elusive. It might be necessary to resolve the IP address of the domain by doing a ping, then do a lookup for the IP address.

http://tools.whois.net/whoisbyip/

If an IP address is part of a large leased block then you might have to email the company who leased the block and ask who the IP address is subleased to.

Newbie

Join Date: Aug 2011

Posts: 5

You can try:
whoishostingthis.com
domaintools.com

Junior Guru Wannabe

Join Date: Mar 2012

Location: Klang Valley, Malaysia

Posts: 50

I normally use network-tools.com

The express tool there gets all the info, from the domain registrar to the company the IP address block is registered to. From there you might have to send out a few emails to trace it even further if it's not listed there directly.

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Web Hosting Master

Join Date: Apr 2011

Location: Las Vegas, NV

Posts: 724

Quote:

You can try:
whoishostingthis.com

Yes, when I do that for any of the domains I host in my VPS it says the colocation center who owns the IP block is hosting the domain. Of course my IP address is leased by the colocation center to my VPS host, who in turn leases it to me, which I use for shared hosting clients.

Whoishostingthis.com reports two levels above me, but it would be necessary to contact me directly to change the authentication information needed by the original poster.