Domain Whois Lookups Not Working?
Do you have problems when looking up domains that are registered through certain registrars? This could happen because of the following reasons.
All domain name lookup software including Domain Name Analyzer, Domain Punch Pro, Watch My Domains (Pro & ISP), etc. require access to port 43. You will need to enable access to this port if you are behind a firewall or proxy. So ensure that the whois lookup problem is not because of a blocked port 43 before reading further.
Most of our software is highly configurable. For example, it is possible to change the port used for lookups to another port (instead of 43). So be aware of any changes you have made to the software configuration.
The registrar's whois server is temporarily down.
Solution: Please wait a while and try again. Check your registrar's website to see if there is a prior announcement of a down-time.
There is a network problem (your ISP, some where else) and you are unable to connect to the registrar's whois server.
Solution: You should wait a while before retrying, contact your ISP or your network administrator.
The whois connection to the server is timing out
Solution: Increase the time out interval for whois connections. By default this is 18 seconds. You might want to increase it to say 30 or in some cases 90 seconds. Use the Edit > DNS & Whois Lookup Settings menu option to do this.
The registrar's whois server is blocking connections from your IP address
Solution:Please see whois usage restrictions. If your IP is being blocked you should stop all lookups immediately. Most registrars reset their ban list every 24 hours. So if you keep redoing the lookups your IP may be banned for longer duration.
You can also use the diagnostic whois tool to check if the port 43 connections from your IP address are being blocked.
The registrar's whois server is blocking connections from your ISP or a net block belonging to your ISP.
Solution: This is a common issue with UK domain lookups and is more troublesome because both the ISP and the registrar will deny there is a problem. See Nominet Whois Lookups. In some cases you might just have to use another ISP.
You have a firewall / proxy server setting that is preventing connections to the registrar's whois server.
Solution: Make sure that you have enabled connections through port 43 and that you are not blocking connections to certain addresses. Contact your network administrator in case you don't control the firewall or proxy.
You have a software configuration / setup error
Solution: Make sure that you have specified the proper whois servers, connection settings etc. within the software. Mostly this is done from the Edit > Top Level Domain List menu option.
Please double or triple check the entries. Spelling errors in the whois server name are difficult to notice at times.
You can reset the whois setup for any TLD/ccTLD by right clicking on a domain name in the list and selecting Data Extraction Setup > Reset To Default menu option.
