WHOIS (who is) is an online service that allows you to search for domain registration information. WHOIS hosts a directory of all registered domains and provides publicly accessible information on the registered owner including contact and technical information.
Why search WHOIS? When performing a WHOIS search you can learn the status of a domain, when a domain was registered and by who it was registered by.

When you purchase a domain from any participating registrar, you will be asked to submit information such as your name, mailing address, email address and phone number. This is a requirement of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) who are responsible for defining and developing Internet policies for domain registrations.

Unfortunately, spammers often mine the public WHOIS database for names and email addresses to be used for their own purposes. Aplus offers Domain Privacy, a service that protects your private information from public viewing by replacing it with our own. This way when a search is performed on WHOIS for your domain, Aplus company information will appear and not your own personal information such as mailing address and phone number. Learn more about Domain Privacy.