CB-WhoIs vs. Other WHOIS Tools: Features Compared

Troubleshooting Common CB-WhoIs Errors and Fixes

CB-WhoIs is a tool for querying domain WHOIS data. When it fails or returns unexpected results, the cause is usually one of a handful of common issues. Below are the typical errors, their likely causes, and step-by-step fixes you can apply.

1. “No WHOIS data found” or blank response

• Cause: Domain not registered, TLD not supported, or rate-limited query.
• Fix:
  1. Confirm domain registration with a secondary WHOIS service (e.g., whois.icann.org).
  2. Check the TLD is supported by CB-WhoIs; try querying a common TLD (example.com) as a control.
  3. Wait 1–5 minutes and retry to rule out transient rate limits.

2. “Rate limit exceeded” or rate-limiting errors

• Cause: Too many queries in a short period, shared IP address causing aggregate limits.
• Fix:
  1. Reduce query frequency; implement exponential backoff (e.g., retry after 1 min, then 2 min, then 4 min).
  2. If available, switch to an authenticated API key or paid tier with higher limits.
  3. Use a different IP or distributed query schedule if legitimate bulk lookups are required.

3. Partial or truncated WHOIS output

• Cause: Response size limits, network timeouts, or incorrect parsing.
• Fix:
  1. Re-run the query and compare raw responses to detect truncation.
  2. Increase client timeout settings.
  3. If parsing fails, request raw WHOIS text and parse line-by-line, ensuring newline handling and character encoding are correct (UTF-8).

4. Obfuscated or redacted registrant contact information

• Cause: GDPR/privacy redaction, registrar privacy services, or registry policies.
• Fix:
  1. Recognize this is often intentional—look for registrar, registration dates, and nameservers which are usually available.
  2. Use registrar lookup pages or abuse/contact forms to request further information when appropriate.
  3. For investigative needs, correlate domain history via WHOIS history services or passive DNS.

5. “Connection refused” or network errors

• Cause: DNS resolution issues, firewall blocking, or WHOIS server downtime.
• Fix:
  1. Verify network connectivity and DNS resolution for WHOIS servers (e.g., whois.iana.org).
  2. Test from another network or use curl/telnet to connect to the WHOIS port (port 43) to confirm server reachability.
  3. Temporarily disable local firewall rules or use permitted ports/proxies.

6. Inconsistent or conflicting WHOIS data across sources

• Cause: Cached data, registrar/registry sync delays, or mirrored sources with stale records.
• Fix:
  1. Query authoritative WHOIS servers for the relevant TLD directly.
  2. Compare timestamps (updated/creation dates) and prefer the most recent authoritative response.
  3. Use WHOIS history services to track changes over time.

7. Invalid input or malformed queries

• Cause: Leading/trailing whitespace, unsupported flags, or wrong query format.
• Fix:
  1. Trim input and validate domain syntax (use a regex for domain validation).
  2. Strip protocol prefixes (remove http:// or https://) and ports.
  3. Refer to CB-WhoIs query documentation for correct parameters and flags.

8. Incorrect time/date fields or timezone confusion

• Cause: Different registries use different timestamp formats or UTC vs local time.
• Fix:
  1. Normalize timestamps to UTC in your client.
  2. Parse multiple common formats (ISO 8601, RFC 822) and handle missing timezone info as UTC.
  3. Display both raw and normalized dates when precision matters.

Quick troubleshooting checklist

1. Verify domain syntax and try a control query (example.com).
2. Check for rate-limit or authentication requirements.
3. Retry after short delay; escalate to raw WHOIS if parsing errors occur.
4. Query authoritative WHOIS servers for discrepancies.
5. Use alternate networks/tools to rule out local/network issues.

When to contact support

• Persistent rate limits despite following backoff and using an authenticated account.
• Repeated server errors or incorrect authoritative data.
• Feature or TLD support questions not answered by documentation.

If you want, I can generate a diagnostic script (curl or Python) that runs these checks automatically against CB-WhoIs.