WHOIS is a protocol which makes it an easy task to view the info a specific domain name has been registered with either through a command line or by using special web-based lookup sites. This information includes the names, address and e-mail address of the owner, admin, tech and billing persons along with the registrar business the domain has been acquired through, the creation and expiration dates. Except for a number of country-code TLDs that have certain limitations, the WHOIS information of any Internet domain can be edited freely at any time, which is quite vital given that based on the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details have to be current and valid at all times. Failure to conform with these policies may lead to losing the ownership of a domain name and in some cases a domain might even be erased from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.