Computer Gurus

[HFishbine]

Is there a way to determine where a web site was being hosted at a certain point in time? It has now been moved. Can I tell where it was hosted in early July?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. None that I know of.

I suppose you could get in touch with Network Associates. On the other hand, a WHOIS would only get you the present host.

[necso]

2. Why don't you ask them?

Make up some harmless sounding reason if you need to and just email the webmaster. Or have a friend do it.

There is also a slender chance that there is some artifact on the web of the previous hosting service. This might be very difficult to find. But maybe somebody linked to an actual IP or identified the site as using a particular hosting service or as having been created by some group which uses a known host, like their own. Perhaps cached pages (like at google), from the site itself reference the old hosting service --- at least one of my sites would.

If the site changed services very recently, it is possible that some name cache somewhere might reflect the old data. I have seen different returns from different name servers and this sometimes is used as a diagnostic technique. However you would only be assuming that an incorrect IP return was the correct old one. It might be a reference to some scammer site!

Best to figure out some discrete way to ask them. You never know --- some folks are very helpful, even when it would be better if they were not.