WHOIS is a protocol which makes it easy to view the info a given domain name has been registered with either through a command line or by using special web-based lookup websites. This information includes the names, address and e-mail address of the owner, admin, tech and billing persons along with the registrar organization the domain name has been acquired through, the creation and expiration dates. With the exception of several country-code TLDs that have specific limitations, the WHOIS information of any Internet domain can be modified freely at any time, which is quite vital since based on the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details have to be current and valid all of the time. Failing to comply with these policies may lead to losing the ownership of a domain address and in many cases a domain address may even be erased from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.