All About Reverse IP, and cross-referencing server IPs, hostnames, and domains
A common DNS-related problem is trying to find out what domains and hostnames an IP handles.
The most common solution is to do a reverse DNS lookup. In some cases, this is very helpful. However, in most cases the best you will get is one domain.
| Solution | Description | Benefits | Drawbacks |
|---|
| Reverse DNS | Uses DNS to get the name of the computer on the IP.
Use: nslookup | - Can be done with any computer
| - Usually just lists 1 hostname
- May not be easy to use
|
| Search Engine | Uses a search engine to find hosts on an IP. | - Plenty of websites offer it
- It can be done directly on some search engines
| - Often very slow
- Is limited to webservers
- Relies on the search engine, which could ban lookups
|
| Data Collection | A server goes through all domains, collecting DNS data.
See: www.DNStrails.com | - Very fast
- Very versatile
- Some offer historical DNS records
| - Not many sites offer it
- Does not normally include ccTLDs (e.g. .co.uk)
- Different sites offer different levels (e.g. web, mail, DNS)
|
|