WHOIS is a protocol that makes it possible to view the info a particular domain has been registered with either through a command line or by using special web-based lookup sites. This information includes the names, address and e-mail address of the owner, administrator, technical and billing persons plus the registrar company the domain name has been purchased through, the creation and expiration dates. With the exception of some country-code TLDs that have specific limitations, the WHOIS information of any Internet domain can be edited freely at any time, which is quite important given that in line with the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details must be current and valid always. Failure to comply with these policies could lead to losing the ownership of an Internet domain and in many cases a domain could even be erased from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.