Questions[whois](server)

I own a couple of domains where I currently have "WHOIS privacy", so my contact info is not revealed in the WHOIS database. I've learned that this arrangement has a significant pitfall, that is, it's the privacy company that really owns the domain, and they license it to me. That seems bad.

I'm not a business, so the only address I can currently list is my home address, which I'm uncomfortable doing.

Therefore, I was thinking about renting a small P.O. box and using that as the address of record. Are there any significant drawbacks of this approach?

One possibility is that people might actually send me snail mail that I need to see, meaning that I might need to actually check the P.O. box instead of ignoring it. Does this happen? (I haven't had any forwarded to me in ~10 years of owning a domain, but that could mean I just haven't caught the attention of folks who would do it.)

Are there other risks or drawbacks?

Whenever you use WHOIS command doesn't return any usefully information. I usually have to go to Godaddy, Dnsstuff or other services to get the data. I understand the reason is mostly due to spamming.

I was just wondering how other services get this data. Do they use different type of WHOIS command? Also confused about some of the data generated data from WHOIS command is just spam. Example doing whois google.com geneates spam website such as GOOGLE.COM.ZZZZZZ.THE.BEST.WEBHOSTING.AT.WWW.FATUCH.COM. Where is this data come from?

Exmaple:

Whois Server Version 2.0

Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

GOOGLE.COM.ZZZZZZ.THE.BEST.WEBHOSTING.AT.WWW.FATUCH.COM
GOOGLE.COM.WORDT.DOOR.VEEL.WHTERS.GEBRUIKT.SERVERTJE.NET
GOOGLE.COM.UY
GOOGLE.COM.UA
GOOGLE.COM.TW
GOOGLE.COM.TR
GOOGLE.COM.SA
GOOGLE.COM.PE
GOOGLE.COM.MX
GOOGLE.COM.DO
GOOGLE.COM.CO
GOOGLE.COM.CN
GOOGLE.COM.BR
GOOGLE.COM.AU
GOOGLE.COM.AR
GOOGLE.COM.AFRICANBATS.ORG
GOOGLE.COM

To single out one record, look it up with "xxx", where xxx is one of the
of the records displayed above. If the records are the same, look them up
with "=xxx" to receive a full display for each record.

>>> Last update of whois database: Wed, 30 Mar 2011 03:07:59 UTC <<<

NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar.  Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.

TERMS OF USE: You are not authorized to access or query our Whois
database through the use of electronic processes that are high-volume and
automated except as reasonably necessary to register domain names or
modify existing registrations; the Data in VeriSign Global Registry
Services' ("VeriSign") Whois database is provided by VeriSign for
information purposes only, and to assist persons in obtaining information
about or related to a domain name registration record. VeriSign does not
guarantee its accuracy. By submitting a Whois query, you agree to abide
by the following terms of use: You agree that you may use this Data only
for lawful purposes and that under no circumstances will you use this Data
to: (1) allow, enable, or otherwise support the transmission of mass
unsolicited, commercial advertising or solicitations via e-mail, telephone,
or facsimile; or (2) enable high volume, automated, electronic processes
that apply to VeriSign (or its computer systems). The compilation,
repackaging, dissemination or other use of this Data is expressly
prohibited without the prior written consent of VeriSign. You agree not to
use electronic processes that are automated and high-volume to access or
query the Whois database except as reasonably necessary to register
domain names or modify existing registrations. VeriSign reserves the right
to restrict your access to the Whois database in its sole discretion to ensure
operational stability.  VeriSign may restrict or terminate your access to the
Whois database for failure to abide by these terms of use. VeriSign
reserves the right to modify these terms at any time.

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Registrars.

Is there a whois equivalent to find out the hosting details for email?

I'm having an issue with a certain individual who keeps scraping my site in an aggressive manner; wasting bandwidth and CPU resources. I've already implemented a system which tails my web server access logs, adds each new IP to a database, keeps track of the number of requests made from that IP, and then, if the same IP goes over a certain threshold of requests within a certain time period, it's blocked via iptables. It may sound elaborate, but as far as I know, there exists no pre-made solution designed to limit a certain IP to a certain amount of bandwidth/requests.

This works fine for most crawlers, but an extremely persistent individual is getting a new IP from his/her ISP pool each time they're blocked. I would like to block the ISP entirely, but don't know how to go about it.

Doing a whois on a few sample IPs, I can see that they all share the same "netname", "mnt-by", and "origin/AS". Is there a way I can query the ARIN/RIPE database for all subnets using the same mnt-by/AS/netname? If not, how else could I go about getting every IP belonging to this ISP?

Thanks.

If I have an IP address, is there a way to find the web hosting service that this IP address belongs to?

I tried using whois and traceroute but no luck so far.

The case is that my friend bought a domain and storage several years ago and he can't remember where he bought the storage from.