WHOIS IP

Enter an IP address in the box below to do a WHOIS IP address lookup and get all WHOIS information regarding the IP address. For example: 8.8.8.8

Whois refers to the CLI-tool, which looks like

`whois <address>`

and can be used to query the database. The output is similar to the output you get on this website when using the form.

What we basically do, is run the whois command for you and present you with the result. This way, you won’t have to be bothered with downloading and installing the tool. The result will be presented in a somewhat human-readable format, but you will encounter a lot of variation as it lacks a global structure. So, interpretation is still needed.

Fortunately, with some effort, it will give you good insight on who is behind a certain IP-address in case our other tools don’t provide you with enough detail. In most cases, it will also give you clear directions on where to send your complaint in case of abuse coming from the specific address.

Note: Only use this information for your own research. To prevent abuse and misuse of this information, we've also limited the amount of daily requests you can do.

What is WHOIS?

WHOIS is a database query protocol. The protocol name is a combination of the words 'who' and 'is', which implies that you can search for the owner information of certain resources. Examples of this are domain names and in case of this website IP addresses, which are generally bundled into larger subnets or blocks.
The protocol was created in the early 70s but was really put to use in the 80s to lookup resource information. Back then, it was centralized on only a single server.

Today it is divided into 5 main regions across the globe, represented by their own registries, namely AFRNIC for the African region, APNIC for the Asian-Pacific region, ARIN for the North-American region, LACNIC for the Latin American and Caribbean regions and RIPE NCC for Europe, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia.
These were founded in the 90s and early 00s and have the sole purpose of managing the allocation and registration of internet number resources, like IP-addresses and ASNs, within their specific region.