WHOIS is a protocol which makes it possible to see the details a specific domain name has been registered with either through a command line or through the use of special web-based lookup sites. This information includes the names, address and email address of the owner, admin, tech and billing persons as well as the registrar organization the Internet domain has been purchased through, the creation and expiration dates. With the exception of several country-code TLDs that have certain limitations, the WHOIS details of any domain name can be modified freely anytime, which is quite necessary provided that in accordance with the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details ought to be current and valid all of the time. Failure to conform with these policies could lead to losing the ownership of a domain address and in some cases a domain name could even be erased from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.