[dns-operations] whois in a soundbite

[Mark Andrews]

GOV's whois is useless.  All you get is existence or not of the name.

e.g.
% whois fbi.gov
% DOTGOV WHOIS Server ready
   Domain Name: FBI.GOV
   Status: ACTIVE

>>> Last update of whois database: 2016-03-07T00:16:48Z <<<
Please be advised that this whois server only contains information pertaining
to the .GOV domain. For information for other domains please use the whois
server at RS.INTERNIC.NET.
% 

Part of the point of whois is to be able to get to someone who can
fix things when servers are broken.  This does not do this.

Mark


In message <20160304024447.81746.qmail at ary.lan>, "John Levine" writes:
> >> I can do better in fewer words: whois is utterly useless.
> >>
> >`whois` is very useful for those who needs to harvest data to identify
> >malicious domains such as Fast-Flux and DGAs.
> >
> >Well, at least for academic issues, it has been very useful.
> 
> Even in its current cruddy state, WHOIS is extremely useful to figure
> out who's doing evil stuff online and in some cases build legal cases
> against them.  I talk to people all the time who do this, in industry,
> academia, and law enforcement.  I have testifed in court at trials of
> online criminals.
> 
> So please don't say "whois is useless". It's not true, and it helps
> the clueless self-appointed privacy activists who want to destroy what
> utility WHOIS has.
> 
> R's,
> John
> 
> PS: I've talked to at least one lawyer at a well known public interest
> group who wouldn't believe me when I told him most domains are
> registered by businesses rather than individuals, because of the
> nonsense his privacy activist friends had been feeding him.
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-- 
Mark Andrews, ISC
1 Seymour St., Dundas Valley, NSW 2117, Australia
PHONE: +61 2 9871 4742                 INTERNET: marka at isc.org