WHOIS is a protocol that makes it simple to view the details a given domain name has been registered with either through a command line or through the use of special web-based lookup websites. This info includes the names, address and e-mail address of the owner, administrator, tech and billing persons along with the registrar company the domain name has been purchased through, the creation and expiration dates. Apart from a number of country-code TLDs that have specific limitations, the WHOIS info of any domain address can be modified freely at any time, which is quite necessary since in line with the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details ought to be current and valid at all times. Failure to conform with these policies could lead to losing the ownership of a domain address and in many cases a domain could even be erased from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.