Glossary
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What are IPv6 Privacy Extensions?
IPv6 privacy extensions are a feature designed to protect user privacy by preventing long-term tracking of devices based on their IPv6 address. Devices can automatically generate their own IPv6 addresses…
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What is a Blacklist?
A blacklist is a list of IP addresses, domains, or email servers that have been flagged as sources of spam, malicious activity, or other harmful behavior. When an IP address…
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What is a Closed Port?
A closed port is a network port that exists on a device, but where no application or service is listening, so incoming connection attempts are rejected. Every device on a…
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What is a Connection Reset?
When one side of a network connection abruptly terminates that connection, that’s called a connection reset. Instead of closing through the normal connection, the reset signal ends the connection immediately. …
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What is a Connection Timeout?
A connection timeout occurs when a device attempts to communicate with a server or another device but does not receive a response within an expected time window. Rather than waiting…
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What is a Datacenter IP?
When you connect to the internet through a home or mobile connection, your IP address is assigned by an ISP that serves individual customers. A datacenter IP, on the other…
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What Is a Dedicated IP?
A dedicated IP is an IP address assigned exclusively to a single user, account, or server. Unlike a shared IP, which is used by many different users simultaneously, a dedicated…
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What is a DNS Cache?
A DNS cache is a small memory storage that keeps track of recently visited domain names and their IP addresses, so your device doesn’t have to look them up again…
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What is a DNS Resolver?
A DNS resolver is a server that translates human-readable domain names into the IP address computers use to communicate. When you type a website address into your browser, the resolver…
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What is a DNS Server?
Every website has at least one IP address, a string of numbers that tells your device where to find that site. A DNS server translates the human-readable domain name you…
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What Is a Dynamic IP Address?
A dynamic IP address is an IP address that changes over time rather than staying fixed. Most internet users have one. When you connect to the internet, your ISP assigns…
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What is a Filtered Port?
A filtered port is a network port that cannot be properly checked because something is blocking access to it. Usually, a firewall, router, or security system is blocking the probe,…
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What is a Firewall?
When you need a security system to monitor and filter the traffic moving in and out of a network, you need a firewall. These security structures work by applying specific…
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What is a Forward DNS Lookup?
A forward DNS lookup (also called forward DNS resolution) is the standard process the internet uses to connect you to websites. DNS stands for Domain Name System. It converts domain…
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What is a Forward Proxy?
A forward proxy is a server that sits between a user’s device and the internet, routing outbound requests on the client’s behalf. Rather than connecting directly to a destination, the…
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What is a Gateway?
A gateway is a network node that serves as an entry and exit point between two different networks. Most commonly, it’s the device in your home or office (typically your…
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What Is a Hop?
A hop is a single step in the journey data takes across the internet. When you send a request from your device, that data rarely travels directly to its destination.…
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What is a MAC Address?
If you’ve heard of a MAC address and thought it was about Apple devices or macOS, you’re not alone. Plenty of people make that assumption. However, a MAC address has…
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What is a Network Interface?
A network interface is the point where a device connects to a network. It’s the hardware or software component that allows data to move in and out. Every device that…
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What is a Network Path?
Every time you load a webpage or send a request online, your data moves through a series of intermediate points, including routers, switches, and servers. That sequence of steps is…
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What is a Packet?
Have you ever watched a download bar fill up in chunks, or seen a webpage load image by image? You’re seeing packets at work. When data travels across the internet,…
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What Is a Port?
A port is a numerical label used by a device’s operating system to direct incoming and outgoing network traffic to the right application or service. While an IP address identifies…
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What is a Private IP Address?
A private IP address is a numerical label assigned to a device within a local network, such as a home or office setup. Unlike a public IP address, which is…
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What is a Protocol?
A protocol is a set of rules that controls how data is sent and received over a network. Every device connected to the internet follows these rules so that different…
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What is a Proxy Server?
A proxy server is an intermediary server (AKA: a computer) that functions between your device and the internet. When you send a request through a proxy, that request goes to…
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What Is a Public IP Address?
A public IP address is the address assigned to your network by your internet service provider that identifies it on the open internet. It’s the address websites, apps, and online…
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What is a Regional IP?
A regional IP, sometimes called a region-specific IP address, is an IP address associated with a particular geographic region. Every IP is allocated through organizations like the Internet Assigned Numbers…
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What is a Residential IP?
Your home internet connection comes with an IP address that is assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). When this IP address comes from a consumer ISP and is tied…
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What is a Reverse Proxy?
A reverse proxy server sits in front of one or more web servers and intercepts incoming requests from users before those requests ever reach the actual server. To the user,…
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What Is a Router?
A router is a networking device that directs data traffic between your home or office network and the internet. When you send a request online, such as loading a webpage…
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What is a Session IP Address?
A session IP address refers to the temporary use of a specific IP address during a single interaction or “session” between a client and a server. A session IP may…
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What Is a Session?
A session is a temporary connection between two devices or between a user and a website that lasts for a defined period of activity. When you log in to a…
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What is a Shared IP?
A shared IP is an IP address that’s used by multiple users, devices, or websites at the same time rather than being assigned to just one. Most shared IP setups…
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What is a Static IP Address?
A static IP address is a fixed IP address that stays the same every time you connect to a network. Unlike a dynamic IP address, which is automatically assigned by…
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What is a Subnet?
A subnet is a logical division of an IP network into smaller parts. “Subnet” is short for “subnetwork.” Every IP address has two components: a network ID (which identifies the…
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What is a Transit Provider?
A transit provider is an internet service provider (ISP) that sells access to the global internet by allowing another network’s traffic to pass through its infrastructure. In practice, a transit…
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What is a Transparent Proxy?
A transparent proxy is a server that intercepts your internet traffic without requiring any configuration on your device and without hiding your IP address. It operates at the network level,…
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What is a VPN Server?
A VPN (virtual private network) is a service or app that encrypts your internet traffic; it’s a whole system for securing connections. A VPN server is one part of that…
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What is a VPN Tunnel?
A VPN tunnel is a secure, encrypted connection between your device and a VPN server that protects your data as it travels across the internet. A VPN tunnel does two…
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What is a VPN?
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a technology that creates an encrypted connection between your device and the internet by routing your traffic through a remote VPN server. This…
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What is a Whitelist?
A whitelist, sometimes called an allowlist, is a security control that defines exactly which IP addresses are permitted to access a network, system, or application, and blocks everything else by…
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What is an ASN Lookup?
An ASN lookup is a query that returns information about the organization controlling a specific block of IP addresses. Every network connected to the internet, such as an internet service…
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What is an ASN?
The internet is made up of tens of thousands of separate networks, each operated by one or more different organizations, connected together. An ASN, or Autonomous System Number, is the…
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What is an Autonomous System?
The internet is made up of tens of thousands of separate networks, each independently operated and connected to the others. Each of those networks is called an autonomous system. Internet…
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What Is An Edge Server?
An edge server is a computer that sits at the outer boundary of a network, positioned geographically close to end users rather than in a centralized data center. Its primary…
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What Is An IP Address?
An IP address, short for Internet Protocol address, is a unique numerical label assigned to every device that connects to a network. It serves two main purposes: identifying the device…
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What is an IP Lease?
An IP lease (usually referred to as a DHCP lease) is the way your device “borrows” an IP address on a network for a limited time. When the lease expires,…
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What Is An IP Lookup?
An IP lookup is a query that retrieves publicly available information associated with a specific IP address. When you run one, you’re asking a database to return details tied to…
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What is an IP Range?
An IP Range is a defined group of consecutive IP addresses treated as a single block. Rather than listing individual addresses one by one, networks use ranges to organize and…
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What Is An IP Trace?
An IP trace is the process of following the path that data takes across a network from one point to another. When you connect to a website or online service,…
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What Is An ISP?
An ISP, or Internet Service Provider, is the company that connects you to the internet. Whether you’re browsing at home, streaming on your phone, or working from a coffee shop,…
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What Is An Open Port?
An open port is a network port that is actively listening for incoming connections. When a port is open, it means a service or application on that device is configured…
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What is Anycast Routing?
Most routing sends data to one specific destination, but anycast routing takes a different approach: the same IP address is assigned to multiple servers in different locations, and traffic is…
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What is Bandwidth?
In simplest terms, bandwidth is the maximum amount of data that your internet connection can transfer in a specific amount of time. Typically, bandwidth is measured in megabits per second…
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What is BGP?
Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is the routing system that keeps the internet running. Think of it like a real-time GPS for your data—every time you load a website, stream a…
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What is Bot Traffic?
Not all internet traffic comes from humans. In fact, a large portion of it comes from bots. “Bot traffic” refers to any of the automated requests made to a website…
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What is Carrier-Grade NAT?
As IPv4 addresses became increasingly scarce, ISPs needed a way to serve more customers than they had addresses for. Carrier-grade NAT, sometimes called CGN or CGNAT, is how many of…
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What is CDN?
“CDN” stands for Content Delivery Network. It is a system of servers distributed across multiple locations around the world. Rather than serving each visitor from a central server, a CDN…
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What is CIDR?
Networks need a way to group IP addresses together, and they do that with CIDR. CIDR stands for Classless Inter-Domain Routing. It’s a method for defining a range of IP…
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What is Connection Origin?
Connection origin refers to where a network connection starts; a device, system, or endpoint that initiates the connection. Whenever two systems communicate (like your laptop and a website), there are…
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What is DNS Propagation?
DNS propagation is the period of time it takes for a change to a domain’s DNS records to spread across all the DNS servers on the internet. It’s why, after…
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What is DNS?
DNS, or Domain Name System, is the internet’s system for translating human-readable domain names into the numeric IP addresses that computers use to communicate. When you type a website address…
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What is Dual Stack Networking?
Dual stack networking is a setup where a network or device runs both IPv4 and IPv6 at the same time. One system can communicate using either protocol, depending on what’s…
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What is Geo-Blocking?
Ever tried to watch a video or access a website only to be told the content isn’t available in your region? You’ve encountered geo-blocking in action. Geo-blocking is the practice…
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What is Geolocation?
Geolocation is the process of identifying the physical location of an internet-connected device, such as your phone, laptop, tablet, or smart watch, using data signals like GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular networks,…
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What is Hop Count?
Hop count is a networking term that tells you how many “steps” (or devices) a piece of data goes through to get from one point to another on a network.…
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What is HTTP?
HTTP, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol, is the foundation of how data is exchanged on the web. When you type a web address into your browser and hit enter, HTTP is…
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What is HTTPS?
HTTPS, or Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, is the encrypted version of HTTP used to transmit data between a web browser and a server. The “S” stands for secure, and it…
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What is IP Allocation?
IP allocation is the process of giving out IP addresses to devices, networks, or organizations so they can communicate on a network or the internet. Every device needs a unique…
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What is IP Blocking?
IP blocking occurs when a website, server, or network refuses to accept traffic from a specific IP address or, in some cases, a range of addresses. It’s a very straightforward…
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What is IP Fragmentation?
When data travels across a network, it moves in discrete chunks called packets. Every network has a limit on how large those packets can be, known as the Maximum Transmission…
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What is IP Masking?
IP masking is the practice of hiding your real IP address so that websites and online services see a different one instead. When you connect to the internet normally, your…
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What is IP Ownership?
Every public IP address is allocated to a specific organization, whether that’s an ISP, a business, a university, or a government agency. IP ownership refers to which organization has been…
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What is IP Reputation?
IP reputation is a score or classification assigned to an IP address based on its history of online behavior. Security systems use this data to decide whether traffic from a…
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What is IP-Based Location?
IP-based location, also known as IP geolocation, is a way of estimating someone’s physical location based on their IP address. Since every device connected to the internet has an IP…
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What is IPv4 Exhaustion?
IPv4 exhaustion is the point at which the internet runs out of new, unused, IPv4 addresses to assign new devices. IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) uses a 32-bit address system,…
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What is IPv4?
IPv4, short for Internet Protocol version 4, is the addressing system that has powered the internet since 1983. It’s the format behind every standard IP address you’ve ever seen: four…
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What is IPv6?
The internet runs on addresses. Every device that connects to a network needs a unique IP address to send and receive data. For decades, these addresses followed a format called…
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What is ISP Logging?
ISP logging is when an internet service provider (ISP) stores records (logs) of your online activity, connections and usage data. What exactly gets logged by your ISP? Websites (domains) you…
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What is ISP Peering?
ISP peering is when two internet service providers (ISPs) agree to connect their networks directly and exchange traffic between their customers without paying a third-party transit provider. Instead of sending…
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What is ISP Throttling?
ISP throttling is when an internet service provider intentionally slows a user’s internet connection for certain types of traffic or during specific periods of time. Rather than cutting off access…
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What is Latency?
When it comes to internet speed, you want to see the lowest latency possible. That’s because latency is a measurement of the amount of time it takes from data to…
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What is Location Spoofing?
When you connect to a website from any device, your IP address is visible to that site, and it can reveal your approximate location. Location spoofing is the practice of…
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What is MTU?
MTU stands for Maximum Transmission Unit. It’s the largest size a packet can be before it gets sent across a network connection. MTU is measured in bytes, and every network…
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What Is NAT?
NAT, or Network Address Translation, is a process that allows multiple devices on a local network to share a single public IP address when communicating with the internet. It’s one…
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What is Network Congestion?
Network congestion happens when a network node or link carries more data traffic than it can efficiently handle, usually leading to reduced quality of service, packet loss, and high latency.…
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What is Network Fingerprinting?
Network fingerprinting is a technique used to identify a device, system, or user by analyzing how it behaves on a network based on unique characteristics of network traffic such as…
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What is Network Reliability?
Network reliability refers to how consistently an internet or computer network delivers data without interruption. A reliable network stays up, performs predictably, and recovers quickly when something goes wrong. Several…
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What is Packet Loss?
Packet loss is what happens when data you send or receive over the internet never makes it to its destination. To understand why that matters, it helps to know how…
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What is Ping?
Ping is a network utility that tests whether one device can reach another over a network, and measures how long that communication takes. The result is reported in milliseconds and…
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What Is Port Scanning?
Port scanning is the process of probing a device or server to find out which ports are open, closed, or filtered. Since each port corresponds to a specific service or…
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What is Rate Limiting?
Rate limiting is a technique used to control how many requests a user, device, or IP address can make to a server within a set period of time. When that…
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What is Reverse DNS?
Reverse DNS is the process of finding a hostname associated with an IP address. Forward DNS lookup does the opposite: it helps you find an IP address using a hostname.…
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What is Routing?
You have a router, but do you know what it does? To understand the idea of a router, you have to understand the process of routing. Every time you load…
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What is Split Tunneling?
Split tunneling is a VPN feature that lets you divide your internet traffic into two separate pathways at the same time. Some traffic routes through the VPN’s encrypted tunnel, while…
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What is TCP?
When data travels across the internet, it doesn’t move as a continuous stream. Instead, it gets broken into small pieces called “packets.” These packets are sent separately, then reassembled at…
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What is Traceroute?
Traceroute (also called tracert on Windows, or tracepath on Linux) is a network diagnostic tool that maps the route your data takes across a TCP/IP network to reach its destination…
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What is Traffic Shaping?
Traffic shaping is the practice of managing how data moves through a network by controlling the rate and priority of different types of traffic. Common types of traffic include video,…
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What is UDP?
When speed matters more than making sure every piece of data arrives, the internet uses UDP. UDP, or User Datagram Protocol, is a way of sending data across a network…
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What Is WHOIS?
WHOIS is a query-and-response protocol used to look up publicly available registration information about domain names and IP addresses. When you perform a WHOIS lookup, you can retrieve details such…