How to test or check reverse DNS (Linux and Windows)

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Question: How do I test or check reverse DNS for given IP address under Linux or Windows XP/Server 2003?

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Answer: Reverse DNS lookup (also known as rDNS) is a process to determine the [gs hostname] associated with a given IP address.

Typically, the DNS is used to determine what IP address is associated with a given hostname; so to reverse resolve a known IP address is to lookup what the associated hostname for it. A reverse lookup is often referred to simply as reverse resolving, or more specifically reverse DNS lookups.

The most common uses of the reverse DNS are:

  • Anti-spam;
  • Network troubleshooting;
  • Avoid [gs spammer]s and phishers using a forward confirmed reverse DNS etc
  • You can use standard UNIX / Linux utilities such as nslookup, dig or hosts to find out reverse DNS of a given IP address.

    Task: Find Reverse DNS for IP 75.126.43.235 under Linux/UNIX

    $ host 75.126.43.235

    Output:

    235.43.126.75.in-addr.arpa domain name pointer cyberciti.org.

    IP 75.126.43.235 is reverse mapped to cyberciti.org.

    Task: Find Reverse DNS for IP 75.126.43.235 under Linux/UNIX/Windows

    nslookup works under Windows and UNIX like oses:

    nslookup 75.126.43.235

    Output:

    Server: 208.67.222.222
    
    Address: 208.67.222.222#53
    Non-authoritative answer:
    235.43.126.75.in-addr.arpa name = cyberciti.org.
    Authoritative answers can be found from:

    SOURCE

    LINK

    LANGUAGE
    ENGLISH

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