How do I Perform a DNS lookup?

A DNS lookup will give you insight about any particular website. You will be able to access information regarding the owner of the website and other such things. Special ways have been developed in order to make this possible for the users. Below you will find the basics of performing a DNS lookup which is based on the URL along with an outline for performing the reverse operation.

The basics of DNS Lookup
There are many organizations that will offer you the ability to enter the web addresses. This is done for two primary purposes. Firstly you will be able to determine whether the website is currently active or not. Secondly you will be able to get directives of where to go in order to find out about the owner of the website.

You will find that any company involved in web hosting or domain name registration will have this service advertised along with the rest of its services. There are other specialized websites that provide access to the published data that surrounds the ownership of domain names.

The process is not that complicated. All you have to do is enter the domain name in a field and follow it up by pressing the search key. The search engine in turn will begin to crawl the public records related to the domain names. Then it will return with a confirmation that the domain name does not exist or offer you directions towards where you can get more detailed information about the owner of the website as well as the current expiration date. In some cases you may even be able to get all the information regarding the website owner that you need.

Performing a Reverse DNS Lookup
The reverse process is but naturally quite similar to the basic method. In this the search criteria is likely to contain more than one specific type of data. You can conduct a reverse DNS lookup by entering the IP address along with the name of a firm or an individual in that firm. The information available through a reverse DNS lookup is pretty much the same as is available through a basic DNS lookup.

Why Perform a DNS Lookup?
There are several applications that may require you to perform a DNS lookup. Primarily it is the most efficient way to check out the availability of a domain name that a company or an individual may want to acquire. It also offers the public an insight into the business operations of other entities. If you want to investigate the origins of unwanted electronic communication and seek a way to put a stop at them then you can make use of a DNS lookup.