WHOIS is a protocol which makes it possible to view the info a particular domain has been registered with through a command line or through the use of special web-based lookup websites. This information includes the names, address and e-mail address of the owner, administrator, technical and billing persons in addition to the registrar company the domain name has been acquired through, the creation and expiration dates. With the exception of some country-code TLDs that have certain limitations, the WHOIS info of any Internet domain can be modified freely at any time, which is quite necessary considering that according to the policies of the top-level Internet Corporation, ICANN, all details have to be current and legitimate always. Inability to comply with these policies may result in losing the ownership of a domain and in some cases a domain may even be removed from the Domain Name System and released for free registration.