How to: Reverse DNS from Windows Command Line using Ping

Here’s a quick and easy way to do a Reverse DNS (RDNS) lookup using ping.exe from a Windows command prompt using the -a switch.

ping -a <IP Address>

Example

ping -a 76.96.54.12

This example will resolve the address as follows:

Pinging www4.comcast.net [76.96.54.12] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 76.96.54.12: bytes=32 time=66ms TTL=51
Reply from 76.96.54.12: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=51
Reply from 76.96.54.12: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=51
Reply from 76.96.54.12: bytes=32 time=7ms TTL=51

Ping statistics for 76.96.54.12:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 7ms, Maximum = 66ms, Average = 21ms