WhoisXML API Blog

IP Geolocation analysis in Python made simple

WhoisXML API's IP geolocation services are powerful, reliable, and competitively priced sources of IP geolocation data. In particular, the IP geolocation API has a strong Python support: the simple-geoip package relies on this API, and it provides maybe the easiest way to get IP geolocation information in Python. 

Powering Asset Discovery with Domain and Subdomain Intelligence Sources

Everyone leaves digital footprints behind while using Internet-based technologies. Besides, in the process of improving digital services, acquiring new companies, and doing business in general, organizations inadvertently create digital trails. When threat actors pick up the scent, the result could be devastating and costly.

Asset discovery can help organizations keep track of their technological assets, so they can apply the necessary protection and keep their overall infrastructure safe from malicious actors. How so? Let’s take a closer look.

Cybersecurity Forensics Analysis Using Domain Intelligence Sources

Forensic science has crossed over to the digital world in what is now called “digital or cybersecurity forensics.” And just like their physical crime scene counterparts, cybersecurity forensics experts need to hold on to whatever evidence they have and use it to get one step closer to catching the perpetrator.

Evidence comes in many different forms, but cybercriminals often use domain names and Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure since those assets are practically what makes the Internet work.

When creating botnets for a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, for example, threat actors need to infect hundreds or thousands of devices. Each of these devices has an IP address, and the requests they send to the target’s server may sometimes contain the command-and-control (C&C) server domain. Even with their most effective entry point - phishing emails - the bad guys need to use domain names and subdomains.

How to Contact the Owner of a Domain with WHOIS and Website Contacts Products

The Internet is one giant marketplace. If you are looking for a software-as-a-service (SaaS) option that you can use for your department, a simple Google search will give you dozens of them. Meanwhile, if you need someone to promote your business, the Internet can suggest several influencers depending on your niche. Once you find a company or person that matches your requirements, all of you have to do next is to contact the domain owner or website representative(s).

Contacting them may be easy since chatbots or contact forms are always available. But how can you connect with the owners of hundreds or thousands of domains without going through a chatbot or waiting for someone to answer the customer service line in each and every case? To help you, we explored four different ways to contact the owner of a domain.

Strengthening Email Security Solutions & Validation Programs with a Disposable Emails Database

Email validation has become a necessity for organizations that aim to protect themselves against cybersecurity threats. The process becomes all the more relevant as 65% of attackers use phishing as a primary infection vector. That’s not a surprise, since attackers have long been weaponizing emails to serve as entry points for cyberattacks.

The ease with which threat actors can create disposable email addresses also contributes to the threat. In less than a minute, they can create a temporary email address with tons of providers, which they then use to send malware-laden and phishing messages to target victims. For this reason, a disposable email domain database can make email security vendors and email validation programs in general more robust and comprehensive. Let us elaborate on that.

WHOIS Lookups & Enterprise Cybersecurity Policies: A Secure Way to Search for Domain Names

These days, it’s unwise to assume that all websites are safe to access. For this reason, security teams typically advise employees against clicking on any links embedded in an email, especially from an unknown sender. This recommendation may even extend to suspicious search results that appear in search engines.

What’s more, for most companies, visiting websites that are not related to an employee’s work is a violation of established cybersecurity policies and procedures. Most cybersecurity policies include:

• Standard steps for accessing work data and applications remotely
• Rules for encrypting emails
• Instructions on creating and managing passwords
• Rules on using social media
• Guidelines for accessing nonwork-related websites

While this last policy may sound extreme to some, it has become common practice, especially among companies that want to beef up their cybersecurity posture. Their stance is ‘Prevention is better than cure’. And keeping employees from visiting potentially dangerous websites is always safer and more cost-effective than dealing with a ransomware attack or data breach.

Given this policy, though, how can one search for domain names that might help the business gain more customers? In parallel, how can security operation centers (SOCs) investigate suspicious online activities with domain names possibly involved in an attempt or attack? Thankfully, tools such as WHOIS Lookup enable SOCs and businesses in general to do extensive research without violating the cybersecurity policies mentioned above.

IP2Location vs. WhoisXML API vs. IPify: 3 Best IP Geolocation Services Compared

IP geolocation is an important source of intelligence with benefits in cybersecurity and marketing. Its use cases include cybercrime prevention, fraud detection, website traffic generation, and many others. Thus, it isn’t surprising to find out that a web search for the keyword “ip geolocation” would return millions of results, many of which include the service pages of some of the best IP geolocation / IP-to-location providers.

Yet with many options available, how would you know which one to choose? We did a comprehensive review of three IP geolocation vendors to answer this question.

How to Take a Screenshot of a Website Page without Visiting the URL

Humans are visual-oriented creatures. With a highly developed visual cortex, our minds are equipped to process visual elements better than any other form of information. For this very reason, we tend to prefer to interact through visual media. That has led to the use and sharing of visual content found on the Internet, which in turn leads to the question of how to take a screenshot of a website page.

In this pro-visual scene, website screenshots have emerged as a prime currency of communication. Whether used in how-to tutorials, web design, or even cybersecurity, the ubiquitous screenshot has propelled itself to a top position in the online ecosystem. Screenshots are also found in more and more business processes. With this in mind, let’s consider a few alternatives for automatic screenshot capture.