AbouThiSite attempts to be one of latter kind of mashups, providing valuable information about a target domain at the click of a button.

But how useful is it in the real world? The answer, sadly, is not very much. It won’t be a part of my arsenal, not unless it adds some additional data. Still, there is much that can be gleaned from it, if others are willing to listen.

What it Does

The idea behind AbouThiSite is very similar to WhoIsHostingThis and Domain Tools in that you punch in a domain and receive back vital information on it. But where Domain Tools is targeted at those who are familiar with networking tools and WhoIsHostingThis focuses on making the process of finding a site’s host simple, AbouThiSite attempts to provide a different set of information in an easy to approach manner.

This includes the following:

1. The IP Address
2. Other Sites Likely on the Same Server
3. The location of where the site is hosted.
4. The PageRank/Traffic of the Site
5. Information About the Colors and HTML of the Site

This information is then displayed in a colorful and easy-to read page that includes a Google Map of the estimated server location, a preview of the site and a link to subscribe to the site’s RSS feed, if it has one.

It is indeed incredibly easy to use, but, for Webmasters dealing with content theft or abuse issues, it is a fairly useless service. In fact, outside of some limited SEO purposes, I have a very difficult time imagining why anyone would favor AbouThiSite over other sites.

Missing Details

The most useful aspect of AbouThiSite is the SEO elements. Having the PageRank, rough traffic and IP information in one place is useful. Though the traffic stats seem to underestimate every site I punched in, the relationships between them made sense.

However, you can get most of this information elsewhere, the only advantage with AbouThiSite being that the information is very cleanly laid out and easy to read. Whether that is worth the trip is up to each Webmaster to decide.

For those wanting to deal with abuse issues, this site is missing critical information that one needs including Whois information, information about the actual host of the site (other than its location) and provides no easy means to obtain it.

Since all of the useful information can easily be procured off another site and you will have to go there regardless to get the information you need, there is little reason to make AbouThiSite a stop at all.

Lessons

This isn’t to say that AbouThiSite is a bad tool, just that it doesn’t fill any needs that I have. There is still a great deal it does right and others may find it useful.

What I sincerely hope is that other sites, especially Domain Tools, might take a look at the way AbouThiSite displays information and glean a few lessons from it, namely how to put a lot of information about a site in front of viewers in a clean, attractive manner.

Though appearance is definitely not everything when looking for tools to help you get the information you need, it does count, as WhoIsHostingThis has showed us. The easier a site is to read, the quicker we get the information.

Likewise, though WhoIsHostingThis is laser-focused and clean to use, it could also benefit from some additional information, such as the location of the host (at least the country) and, perhaps, the whois data.

The bottom line though is that AbouThiSite offers a glimpse of what a good domain information mashup could be without actually being that mashup.

Conclusions

The bottom line is that, if AbouThiSite has information that you find useful, then by all means use it. It’s a fast, user-friendly site that is easy to pick up and add to your toolbox. I, personally, don’t have much use for it nor do I see how others might.

That being said, it appears to me that the site is more of a proof of concept than a finished product and, with that in mind, the concept it does show is valuable.

The Web may not have a lot of use for this site, but there is a lot it could learn from it, if one is willing to listen.

The techniques for determining who a host is are, at best, complicated and somewhat geeky in nature. Though I wrote a guide on how to use some tools for finding the host, the process remains one of the most common questions I get asked about.

At least one site, WhoIsHostingThis, has attempted to simplify this process. Turning into a Google-style experience. Previously reported on here the site did a respectable job in most cases, though there were some peculiar results on some tests.

The idea is that the networking wizardry should be hidden from the user and the site should receive a domain (or bookmarklet click) and then simply return the host. A great theory, especially for the non-tech oriented, but due to the nature of the work it is not always reliable. Most who are familiar with the tools, myself included, tended to lean on more sophisticated sites, such as DomainTools.

However, an upgrade at WhoIsHostingThis is attempting to change that, by fixing the kinks and bugs and, potentially, making the site a one-stop shop for domain hosting and information.

Some Geek Stuff

The typical way to determine the host of a site is a tool called IP Whois. Basically, IP Whois works like this:

1. All servers on the Web (as well as all computers or routers facing the Web) resolve to an IP address, a set of four numbers from 0-255.
2. Those IP addresses are controlled and doled out by various Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that are non-profit oversight boards that help control these limited resources. ARIN is the RIR for the United States and North America.
3. When RIRs assign IP addresses, they keep a registry of who is assigned what numbers. That information can be queried by an IP Whois.
4. The most common purchasers of IP addresses are Web hosts, such as GoDaddy, ISPs, such a your cable company, and academic institutions.
5. These institutions then allow their customers to use the IP address for accessing the Internet, hosting a site, etc. but usually do so only on their own network. Most of the time an IP address purchased by company X will point to a customer of their company.
6. Thus, an IP Whois can usually trace you back to who is hosting a particular site or at least who is responsible for the IP address at that particular location.

The procedure is far from perfect and, as we’ll explore there are ways it can be gamed. But it is far more accurate than other methods, such as looking at the DNS servers, which can be trivially changed by spammers and plagiarists.

It is also this method that has been largely utilized by WhoIsHostingThis with great results. However, where the site has struggled has been with exceptions to the rule, cases where the IP Whois is misleading or, worse still, downright wrong.

Though these are cases that can usually be corrected with other tools, such as traceroutes (which look at the path traffic takes to arrive at the destination) or the DNS information, that information has, traditionally, not been used by WhoIsHostingThis.

That is starting to change.

The “HostGator Problem”

In March of 2007, one of the largest moves in Web hosting took place as HostGator, the very popular budget Web host, moved much of its 500,000 plus domains into ThePlanet’s datacenter. Though the move made sense for both parties, it created an abuse reporting kludge that remains.

The problem is this, on those half million domains, the IP Whois information points to The Planet and not Hostgator since they are located within The Planet’s network. Thus many, myself included, have sent DMCA notices or spam reports to The Planet thinking that they were the host. This has created slow downs in addressing critical issues.

However, these problems are largely avoidable as the DNS servers, as well as other information, do point to HostGator as the host. The problem is that the information can be easily overlooked.

So, while this problem can be overcome by humans, it requires a fair amount of skill at reading networking and domain information and, even then, is prone to mistakes. WhoIsHostingThis is seeking to fix that problem by looking at multiple sources of information, including the DNS information, to determine who the host is.

In that regard it has already “fixed” the Hostgator problem, a search on the site for a HostGator domain reveals HostGator as the host, not The Planet. A similar result happens when you look for WordPress.com domains, as it shows WordPress as the host, not Layered Technologies.

Though the site provides the additional information below the main result, in case the results are mistaken, it is right in these cases.

Further Improvements

Though WhoIsHostingThis has already integrated many of the hosts that, like HostGator, have their IP addresses listed as being another service, this is not to say that they have all of them. The operators of the site admit that the site needs further improvements.

However, where the site was previously about 95% accurate with its information, it is now most likely well over 99%. These cases where the IP Whois was wrong were rare to begin with and the site has already fixed most of the larger outliers. This means that only a fraction of a fraction of domains should return any issues.

That being said, there are still issues and bugs to be worked out. For one, where the site does very well with U.S. and Canada-based hosts, international ones, especially those in languages other than English, seem to give the site trouble from time to time. Also, there are still at least some cases where the information might be technically correct, but does not provide a correct URL for the host or enough information to locate it.

However, as I said earlier, these are extreme outliers. For most cases, WhoIsHostingThis works very well and certainly good enough for those that don’t have the technical expertise to use traditional networking tools.

Conclusions

Personally, I’ve begun using the WhoIsHostingThis bookmarklet to help me determine the host of sites and only using DomainTools or other sites whenever I get a strange result. It’s worked very well these past few weeks (since the updates began) and I’ve been impressed with the work that they have done.

Though I’m never likely to use this site, or any other site, as my exclusive resource for this kind of information (best to have confirmation no matter what you use), the improvements at WhoIsHostingThis have really impressed me.

While there is clearly work to be done, the progress is clearly evident and I am very happy with the improvements they have been making.

According to a recent AP article, the Whois service, a series of databases with information about the individuals that register domains, has come under fire from privacy advocates and a new proposal seeks to do away with the service altogether.

Such a move would be a tremendous blow to law enforcement, lawyers and researchers that regularly use the database. However, it may also alleviate some of the spam and privacy concerns that come with the database in its current format.

No matter what is decided this Wednesday when a committee from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meets, this will be a major issue to follow and one that will have a major impact on both the structure of the Internet and how Webmasters protect their content.

What Is Whois

When someone registers a domain such a .com or a .net, they provide a set of information including their name, email, address and phone number. This information is placed into a Whois database, which each domain registrar keeps, and is then searchable by using a Whois lookup tool, such as the one found on Domain Tools.

This means that, if you register a domain, anyone can look up the information that you provided for it. If you gave your personal information, that could include your home phone and address.

To alleviate these privacy concerns, Whois protection services such as Domains By Proxy have sprung up to keep Whois information secret. These services work as forwarders, letting you use their address as your own and forwarding you email sent to the anonymous account they created for you. They can also be compelled to give up your actual registration info in certain events, including legal matters.

However, such steps have done little to alleviate the concerns of some privacy advocates. They worry about the requirement of posting personal information in a public space in order to obtain a domain and want better protection for Webmasters.

To make matters even worse, spammers have seized on the service, using it to harvest thousands of addresses and send out bulk mail, often relating to domain names.

On the other hand, law enforcement uses Whois to track down criminals. Consumer watchdogs use it to spot scammers. Also, lawyers use it to locate copyright and trademark infringers and anti-spam groups use it to track and monitor spammers.

In short, it is a very powerful tool with both great limitations and serious drawbacks.

Fixing Whois

The problems with Whois are well-documented.

Beyond that above mentioned privacy issues, it is too easy to supply false information to the database. There is nothing to stop a scammer from just putting garbage into his Whois information and avoid detection.

You can report invalid Whois information but action is unlikely and slow. It is also, generally, limited to the revoking of the domain and does little to actually identify the person behind the site.

This has resulted in a great deal of inaccurate information in the Whois databases and that, in turn, has limited the usefulness of the tool. Because of that, ICAAN has started looking at ways to improve the tool and the organization is actively looking at proposals for fixing it.

However, most of the proposals are much more mild than the “sunset” proposal that has caused such a stir and would do away with Whois by the end of 2008. According to the AP article, a proposal encouraging more study of Whois abuse and the extent of personal registration is much more likely to pass.

But no matter what happens tomorrow when the committee meets, what is clear is that this will be an issue to watch and follow as the outcome of what is decided could drastically change the Web and how we identify the people behind the sites.

What it Means to Us

The good news for Webmasters dealing with copyright issues is that the Whois service is not the tool to use when locating the host of a site. Other tools, such as DNS and IP Whois, are much more valuable in gleaning that information.

However, while that is great for copyright holders that favor contacting hosts and sending DMCA notices, such as myself, it doesn’t bode well for those who prefer to contact the infringer directly. In many cases, the Whois database is the only source for that information as it is not always posted on the site itself.

If the Whois service does disappear, I expect the following things to happen in the realm of content theft.

1. DMCA Notices Will Become Much More Popular: Expect more and more Webmasters to turn to DMCA notices and other host contacts as the methods of contacting infringers directly become more limited.
2. More Subpoenas: Though the information would not be a in public database, the registrar would still have all of the pertinent information, especially if the individual paid with a credit card. Lawyers might not simply be able to look up who owns a domain, but they certainly could subpoena the information if needed.
3. Less Enforcement By Novice Webmasters: The Whois service is popular for tracking down plagiarists because it is very simple to use. You punch in a domain and out comes the information associated with it. Novice Webmasters often lack the knowledge to use more advanced networking tools and, without the Whois database, would have almost no recourse.

In short, veterans of dealing with content theft will likely barely notice the disappearance of the Whois service but less experienced Webmasters may find themselves lost without it.

Conclusions

The Whois service is a powerful tool that has some very large problems and raises some very serious concerns. There is little doubt that the service is both riddled with problems and has attracted unwanted attention from the dark side of the net.

However, that does not mean that one can simply ignore all of the good that it does and the potential uses for the Whois service. Proposing to kill off Whois because of its flaws is an extreme overreaction, especially when the depth of these flaws and the possibilities for remedy are not fully understood.

In the end, I have to agree that further study of the problem is needed before anything is decided, especially something as drastic as eliminating the service altogether. The problems that face Whois are great but trying to shut it down is just another non-answer, a way to avoid dealing with the issues.

Whois needs an overhaul, that much is very clear, but shutting it down and walking away not only does more harm than good, but fails to address the issues adequately and, instead, just shuffles them onto the individual registrars.

We, the Internet-using public, entrust ICANN to deal with the tough issues and not run away from them. Shutting down Whois, at this phase, would be exactly that.

We can only hope that ICANN will see this and do what is right, take a more measured approach to the problem and learn more about the issues at hand before leaping off the veritable cliff.

Related: Mashable

Update: The committee voted 17-7 to keep the Whois database as it is right now and shot down a proposal to allow “natural persons” to designate a third party agent. The “sunset” proposal was defeated 13-10. ICANN is instead comissioning additional studies on the issue and will likely be coming back to it in the coming years. With the closer margin on the sunset option, it appears more likely than previously thought.