Which network tool would be most suitable for investigating the origin of an unfamiliar IP address on a Windows network?

Which network tool would be most suitable for investigating the origin of an unfamiliar IP address on a Windows network?

• A. nslookup
• B. traceroute
• C. netstat
• D. ping

Answer: (A)

Identifying an unfamiliar IP’s origin relies on translating the address back to a domain or hostname via DNS. nslookup is the Windows tool built for querying DNS records, including reverse lookups that map an IP address to a host name or domain. By performing a reverse lookup on the unfamiliar IP, you can often learn the associated host and, in turn, infer ownership or the organization responsible for that address. If a PTR record exists, you’ll see a recognizable name; if not, you’ll get limited information, which itself tells you that a convenient domain mapping isn’t available. Other tools serve different purposes: traceroute shows the path packets take to reach the IP, which helps diagnose reachability and routing but not directly identify the origin; ping verifies reachability; netstat shows active connections on your own host. So nslookup is the best choice for quickly uncovering the identity associated with an IP address.

Identifying an unfamiliar IP’s origin relies on translating the address back to a domain or hostname via DNS. nslookup is the Windows tool built for querying DNS records, including reverse lookups that map an IP address to a host name or domain. By performing a reverse lookup on the unfamiliar IP, you can often learn the associated host and, in turn, infer ownership or the organization responsible for that address. If a PTR record exists, you’ll see a recognizable name; if not, you’ll get limited information, which itself tells you that a convenient domain mapping isn’t available. Other tools serve different purposes: traceroute shows the path packets take to reach the IP, which helps diagnose reachability and routing but not directly identify the origin; ping verifies reachability; netstat shows active connections on your own host. So nslookup is the best choice for quickly uncovering the identity associated with an IP address.