WHOIS is a protocol that makes it possible to see the information a particular domain 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 plus the registrar organization the domain has been acquired through, the creation and expiration dates. With the exception of a number of country-code TLDs that have specific limitations, the WHOIS information of any domain address can be edited freely whenever you want, which is quite necessary given that based on the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details must be current and legitimate at all times. Failing to comply with these policies may result in losing the ownership of a domain name and in many cases a domain name may even be removed from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.