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question Question about historical Whois lookup for dropped domain.

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Daniel Mamizadeh

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Hi Namepros community.
Guys, I need your help!

I want to get the Whois data for an expired domain name which was dropped several years ago. Now it's available to register, but you know, I can't register it.

It's an IDN type domain name, and made up of two different languages, the Russian & English. I tried with Dynadot, Namecheap, and Joker registrars, but they all failed due to "charset problem".

I'm sure that registering that name isn't impossible, because somebody has registered it several years ago, and a website was established on it. So I need to find out which registrar has registered that IDN that contains two language's characters.

So I want to ask you, do you know any web services which provides Whois history, specially the registrar data of domain names for FREE? I can't use paid services like DomainTools, because I live in Iran and we can't pay with common payment methods like Paypal or Visa here.

OR, do you know any registrar out there, which can make this job done??
I'm looking forward for your helpful responds. Thank you, kind guys!
 
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A shot in the dark but, try http://www.hosterstats.com/
(not sure it will accept the idn characters so use both idn and punycode)

there is a slight chance that you might see the nameservers of the previous registrar which will give you a hint where it was registered.
 
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I may misunderstand, but you need to enter the code and not the characters in a Whois search such as Namecheap Whois. E.g.
XN--9SUN60E.COM

So enter the code and not the characters.

That will return a record, but only if the domain name is registered. There is no Whois record if expired.

As noted HosterStats.com will show you where DNS has been set, and creations and deletions, since 20000. It needs to be entered using the XN notation as shown above.

Paid services like DomainIQ can show some past registrant data.

Bob

 
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@Bob Hawkes
If I'm understanding OP correctly,

the problem is that the domain cannot easily be registered as the IDN contry code that is being requested, when registering such a domain, cannot be decided due to domain containing two different language codes (Russian and English)
 
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A shot in the dark but, try http://www.hosterstats.com/
(not sure it will accept the idn characters so use both idn and punycode)

there is a slight chance that you might see the nameservers of the previous registrar which will give you a hint where it was registered.

Thank you. I used Hosterstats.com but it doesn't work, unfortunately.
For example, think about "аpple.com" which the letter "а" is a Cyrillic character and it's punycode format is "xn--pple-43d.com". It's available to be added to your cart and order to register on a registrar website.
But if you order it, the registrar will fail to register that name. Because of "charset problem", not because it's illegal job against Apple Inc.

I checked with Archive.org about that domain (аpple.com), and find out somebody has registered it on 2005. The screenshot of the website is available too. So, why that domain can't be re-registered now??

Can I ask you for a check about that domain? I don't want to register it, but the domain I need to register, has the same conditions like "аpple.com". Maybe finding the historical Whois data of that domain would help me to register my needed domain via the registrar of "аpple.com".
 
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The example domain you showed me (xn--pple-43d.com) does work with Hosterstats.
Are you sure the conditions are the same?
 
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I may misunderstand, but you need to enter the code and not the characters in a Whois search such as Namecheap Whois. E.g.
XN--9SUN60E.COM

So enter the code and not the characters.

That will return a record, but only if the domain name is registered. There is no Whois record if expired.

As noted HosterStats.com will show you where DNS has been set, and creations and deletions, since 20000. It needs to be entered using the XN notation as shown above.

Paid services like DomainIQ can show some past registrant data.

Bob

Thank you Bob.
For example, there is an IDN domain, "аpple.com" with punycode "xn--pple-43d.com" which the letter "а" is a Cyrillic character, not English. We can suppose there's a guy who is Apple fanboy and want to establish an Apple's forum and news website with that domain name, not for phishing purposes.

If he check that IDN on a registrar, the domain is available to register, but if he order and pay for it, the registrar will fail to do the job (I checked it recently), due to "charset problem", not because it's illegal job against Apple Inc.

I did research on Archive.org about that domain, and find out somebody has registered it on 2005, and a screenshot of the webpage is available there too. So, why that domain can't be re-registered now again??

So, can I ask you for a research about that domain? I don't want to register it, but the domain I need to register, has the same conditions as "аpple.com". Maybe finding that which registrar was behind the "аpple.com", help me to register my needed domain via that registrar too.

Thank you,
Danial.
 
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The example domain you showed me (xn--pple-43d.com) does work with Hosterstats.
Are you sure the conditions are the same?

Yes I checked "xn--pple-43d.com" in Hosterstats too, and the service didn't respond a result.
The domain I need to register has the same condition as "аpple.com" (xn--pple-43d.com), because it's mixed with Cyrillic "а" & another English characters.

Maybe finding that which registrar has registered "аpple.com" in 2005 (you can see screenshot on Archive.org), can help me to register my needed domain name, too. Can you please help about it?

Thanks,
Danial.
 
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I did research on Archive.org about that domain, and find out somebody has registered it on 2005, and a screenshot of the webpage is available there too. So, why that domain can't be re-registered now again??

It might have something to do with IDNA2008 / RFC5892

Basically, ICANN made some changes in 2008 in regards to what IDN domains can be registered. Some existing IDN domains, such as xn--l3h.com, can't be re-registered if it's dropped and deleted from the registry, as it's only allowed due to it being grandfathered in.

Per a DomainIncite.com article

IDNA2008 is the latest version of the IETF standard used to define what Unicode characters can and cannot appear in IDNs.

RFC 5892 specifies what can be included in an IDNA2008 domain name, eliminating thousands of letters and symbols that were permissible under the old IDNA2003 standard.

You can try Whoxy.com for free historical WHOIS.

And some nP members have paid accounts that if you post a specific domain, somebody (maybe me) will look it up under their paid DomainIQ.com account.
 
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Yes I checked "xn--pple-43d.com" in Hosterstats too, and the service didn't respond a result.

Thanks,
Danial.

I just told you that hosterstats shows a result for the example domain. If it doesn't work for you then it's something on your side:
upload_2021-4-6_10-32-28.png
 
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I just told you that hosterstats shows a result for the example domain. If it doesn't work for you then it's something on your side:
Show attachment 187035

Dude, thank you so much for your help.
I'm beginner and I don't know exactly, can I find the registrar of "xn--pple-43d.com" with this hosting history result?? was "domaindiscount24.net" the registrar of that domain name?
 
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xn--pple-43d.com

DomainIQ.com shows one historical entry...

upload_2021-4-6_0-43-7.png

... however it looks as if the data was corrupted upon data collection, or some other error, as nothing populates...

upload_2021-4-6_0-44-21.png

... so that's a bust.

Though, when checking on expired drop lists, it looks as if xn-pple-43d.com might have been registered for one year in 2017, and was deleted on May 30th, 2018. I'm not sure which registrar it was previously registered at though.
 
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Thank you @Grilled , but why did you send me that screenshot? 😂
I'm not going to establish a phishing website for Apple 😂😂 I just described it as "example".

One another example is "аmazon.com" and "аmаzon.com". In the first one, letter "a" is Cyrillic. The next one has two Cyrillic "a" letters. These two domains are registered with Markmonitor registrar for brand protection of Amazon.

Yes, I know that some guys want to register those kind of domains for phishing works, but I believe those IDN can be used for running a brand's users forum, or for publishing news about that brand, too.

According to your screenshots from DomainIQ, are you sure that it was re-registered in 2017 other than 2005?
I used Whoxy.com for free historical Whois lookup, but I couldn't get any respond.
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I think it's up to registrars and depend on them to specify which language that IDN is, when registering an IDN. Since registering domains on most of registrars is a automatic process, therefore maybe their system get confused when registering those kind of IDNs mixed up with two different languages.

But it's probable that some registrar(s) don't have this error on their system and can do it successfully. Simply I need to find a registrar who can register my needed IDN without error. And the problem is I can't test them all with paying them. Because the USD and Euro currencies are very very expensive on my country, Iran! And if you think about asking them, I did it before, but most of support agents on registrars don't know about it too!! 😢😢
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If you see above, a friend has sent this thread an screenshot of "аpple.com" hosting history. Do you guess "DomainDiscount24.net" is the registrar of that IDN in 2005??
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I'll be really thankful to you if you would help me. Me in Iran, I don't have access to buy premium paid accounts on domain services.
 
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if you visit that domain you'll be redirected here:
https://www.domaindiscount24.com/

Thank you friend. I visited that website. But do you think it is the registrar of "аpple.com" in 2005?
One of other friends wrote here it seems that it was re-registered in 2017 other than 2005! What do you think? .. How can I find it's registrar??

I think it's up to registrars and depend on them to specify which language that IDN is, when registering an IDN. Since registering domains on most of registrars is a automatic process, therefore maybe their system get confused when registering those kind of IDNs mixed up with two different languages.
 
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Thank you @Grilled , but why did you send me that screenshot? 😂
I'm not going to establish a phishing website for Apple 😂😂 I just described it as "example".

Well, why did you use that domain name as an example? I posted the screenshot/link because it was about the exact domain you used in the example.

You said:

For example, there is an IDN domain, "аpple.com" with punycode "xn--pple-43d.com" which the letter "а" is a Cyrillic character, not English. We can suppose there's a guy who is Apple fanboy and want to establish an Apple's forum and news website with that domain name, not for phishing purposes.

And that may be true. But the internet has a greater concern with these type of domains being used for malicious and/or phishing purposes. That is why I felt it important to post the link, and screenshot, as we have no way of knowing if we're helping you register a domain for a fan site, foreign language site requiring cyrillic letters, or if you want to copy cat. I guess that's not really any of our concerns either. Just saying, because of the way you phased this request, I'm growing uneasy offering further assistance. Maybe others see this differently...
 
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Thank you @Grilled , but why did you send me that screenshot? 😂

Additionally, if you read the link I posted, it cited a proof-of-concept domain,

942a1d48cb68b8678e2713249d1ae7ceaf9fa4c39767562a8caf6cc856626160.png

The site above is not the real Apple domain but rather a domain that I was able to purchase. You can see for yourself by visiting the proof-of-concept.

and the blog confirmed you can register cyrillic character IDN domains as of 2017.

It is possible to register domains such as "xn–pple-43d.com", which is equivalent to "аpple.com". It may not be obvious at first glance, but "аpple.com" uses the Cyrillic "а" (U+0430) rather than the ASCII "a" (U+0061). This is known as a homograph attack.

So if you follow the history of the proof-of-concept domain, you could find at least 3 registrars (since 2012) connected to the proof of concept domain linked on Xudongz.com blog: <xn--80ak6aa92e.com>

Registered at Enom in 2012, and dropped in 2013.
Registered again for the proof of concept in 2017 at Google.
Transferred to NameCheap in 2018.
 
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Well, why did you use that domain name as an example? I posted the screenshot/link because it was about the exact domain you used in the example.

You said:



And that may be true. But the internet has a greater concern with these type of domains being used for malicious and/or phishing purposes. That is why I felt it important to post the link, and screenshot, as we have no way of knowing if we're helping you register a domain for a fan site, foreign language site requiring cyrillic letters, or if you want to copy cat. I guess that's not really any of our concerns either. Just saying, because of the way you phased this request, I'm growing uneasy offering further assistance. Maybe others see this differently...

Thank you dear @Grilled ,
Sorry, I don't know how did you understand my sentences. You know, I'm not a domainer. I just want to register a good domain name for my offline business. This is the all! But it's not reasonable to talk about my needed domain name in public, isn't it? Maybe I can talk about it on a direct message to you, if you accept it.

The natural ASCII .com domain name that I need, is registered more than 2 decades ago, which make me have to going to register an IDN type, instead. I know that this maybe not a good idea, but there isn't any website with that ancient domain name, and no search results on Google, Bing, etc.

And uhhhh, I couldn't understand that do you rejected my request or going to help me if you can?
I just need to find a registrar who can successfully register this type of IDN for me.
And you noted above that you own paid accounts on domain services. So can you help me, please? I can talk about the IDN name in my mind in a direct message with you.
 
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Additionally, if you read the link I posted, it cited a proof-of-concept domain,



and the blog confirmed you can register cyrillic character IDN domains as of 2017.



So if you follow the history of the proof-of-concept domain, you could find at least 3 registrars (since 2012) connected to the proof of concept domain linked on Xudongz.com blog: <xn--80ak6aa92e.com>

Registered at Enom in 2012, and dropped in 2013.
Registered again for the proof of concept in 2017 at Google.
Transferred to NameCheap in 2018.

So you mean the domain "xn--80ak6aa92e.com" was registered with Enom for the first time? Than it was registered with Google Domains for the second time? .. The question is, is this domain is mixed with 2 languages? Cyrillic & English? Cause I exactly talk about mixing Cyrillic & English.

So can we get conclusion that both of these registrars can do this job??
 
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So you mean the domain "xn--80ak6aa92e.com" was registered with Enom for the first time?

Yes

Than it was registered with Google Domains for the second time?

Yes

The question is, is this domain is mixed with 2 languages? Cyrillic & English? Cause I exactly talk about mixing Cyrillic & English.

Dude, how many times do I have to post this link, before you actually read it? :banghead: :panda:

... The domain "аррӏе.com", registered as "xn–80ak6aa92e.com", ... using Cyrillic characters ...

It is possible to register domains such as "xn–pple-43d.com", which is equivalent to "аpple.com". It may not be obvious at first glance, but "аpple.com" uses the Cyrillic "а" (U+0430) rather than the ASCII "a" (U+0061).
 
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if you visit that domain you'll be redirected here:
https://www.domaindiscount24.com/

Dude, can you answer/help me please? I just attempt to find a registrar who can do this job without error.

Seriously, I don't want to register xn--pple-43d.com, I just wrote it as example above, because the domain in my mind has same conditions with that IDN .. It's a mixed word with English & Cyrillic letters, just like аpple.

So, according to your screenshot from Hoserstats, do you think that the DomainDiscount24 is probably the registrar of that IDN in 2005??


204180_fbe6a4ee171796ef8bbedb83c0e1fcc4.webp

And recently, a friend told that:
Though, when checking on expired drop lists, it looks as if xn-pple-43d.com might have been registered for one year in 2017, and was deleted on May 30th, 2018. I'm not sure which registrar it was previously registered at though.
 
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Though, when checking on expired drop lists, it looks as if xn-pple-43d.com might have been registered for one year in 2017, and was deleted on May 30th, 2018. I'm not sure which registrar it was previously registered at though.

Ok, thank you sooo much, my kind friend.
But can I ask & request you to use your valuable time, a little bit for me, please?

Can you do a little more research about that IDN? Which registrar was behind registering it in 2017? You know, I really need to know which registrar(s) are probably able to register my needed IDN without errors. And knowing that, can help me a lot.

Thank you again,
Daniel.
 
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