Overview

The WHOIS tool is used to seek up information about a domain name’s registration. The date the domain was registered, its expiration date, registrant information, nameservers, and the domain registrar are all included in these details. When a domain is registered, ICANN mandates that this information be entered into a public database that anyone can access via the WHOIS protocol.

Any change to the registrant’s name, organization, or email address, as defined by ICANN’s Transfer Policy, will lock the domain for 60 days and send notification emails to the old and new registrants informing them of the change.

For further information, please see the following article:

Transfer Policy of ICANN
You can view domain registrant information listed in this database on a variety of Internet websites.

Do I need to list my real information in the public database?

Domain owners must have truthful and accurate ownership information on file with the registry, according to ICANN. They have the power to force registrars to suspend client domains if the system contains false ownership information, and as a domain owner, you must provide genuine and accurate ownership information for any domains you register.

Most domain extensions that you may register through the GreggHost interface come with free WHOIS privacy as an added bonus. Only a few international/specialty registries do not enable WHOIS privacy. More information about this service can be found at:

WHOIS Privacy Service for Domains
Privacy when registering a domain

What is the WHOIS database?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) mandates that persons who own or administer a domain name make their mailing address, phone number, and email address publicly available through the “WHOIS” database. ICANN is a non-profit organization that oversees the Internet’s worldwide domain name system, and registrars (such as GreggHost) must adhere to its rules to maintain accreditation.

More information about ICANN can be found here.

The WHOIS database allows you to get fast information on a domain name, such as who registered it, when it was formed, and who to contact at that domain, among other things.

The domain is checked in the WHOIS database to see if it is available when you start the domain registration procedure with GreggHost.

How do I update my contact information or nameservers on a domain?

The domain contact data, which are publicly accessible via a WHOIS lookup, can be updated or modified using the GreggHost panel.

To make modifications to these specifics, follow these steps:

Go to the Registrations section of the website.

You can update the contact information for a single domain or a group of domains at once. If you want to make changes to multiple domains at once, you can do so in groups of domains with the same extension. For example, you may edit the contact information for all.com domains at once by checking the boxes to the right of all the domains you want to change.
There are two exceptions to this rule (.uk and.io), which are discussed below:

When you try to edit the WHOIS information for a *.uk domain name in the panel, you get the following message:

When you click the link, you’ll be taken to’secure.nominet.org.uk’. Then you can edit your WHOIS information there.

.io domain names are another exception, as their WHOIS information cannot be changed in the panel. Instead,.io domains can only have their WHOIS information updated by submitting a support ticket to GreggHost. It may take a few days to process this request.

Once you’ve decided the domain(s) you want to change on this page, go to the bottom of the list and click the Modify Whois! button.

All of the fields that you want to change should be updated.
You can also select to update all contacts (Registrant, Admin, Technical, and Billing contacts) at once, or use WHOIS privacy if your domain type supports it.
If your domain does not appear in this list, it is either registered with another provider or is associated with a different GreggHost account.
Within 30-60 minutes of making changes to your contact information, the registry’s database will be updated.
To change the nameservers for a domain, go to the Nameservers tab and select either GreggHost‘s or another host’s nameservers from the radio buttons.
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Replace the default nameservers with the nameservers of the other host, then save your changes by clicking the Save Nameservers button.
For further information, see the Nameservers article.
Your new nameservers will be established at the registry in 30-60 minutes, however global updates can take up to 72 hours. This is expected and is caused by DNS propagation latency.
More information is available in the DNS propagation article.
If you’re utilizing GreggHost for web hosting, email, or another hosting option (redirecting, parking, mirroring), you’ll want to utilize the following GreggHost nameservers: ns1.dreamhost.com and ns2.dreamhost.com. 64.90.62.230 \sns2.dreamhost.com 208.97.182.10 \sns3.dreamhost.com 66.33.216.216
You should only have to add the nameserver URL, not the IP address, when updating your nameservers at your registrar. The IP addresses are mentioned above in case your registrar requests them.

When do changes I make to my domain registration occur?

Any changes you make to your domain registration, including WHOIS, nameserver(s), and registrant information, take effect instantly.

Emails you receive after changing your information

You’ll receive an email from GreggHost advising you of the change as soon as you’ve changed your information. [email protected] will be the sender of this email.

If you haven’t already done so, you will receive an email from [email protected] asking you to confirm your name and email address. This will include a link that you must click in order for your site to continue to function properly.