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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 9:11:30 AM | OK, so from an e-mail, you can often get the originating IP address, which technically is the "location" for your computer, but normally only your ISP is going to know which IP goes where. From the IP address, one can usually determine *who* your ISP is ... which in many communities, if you have a cable modem, knowing "who" your ISP is would be really useless because it could be nearly the entire community (e.g. thousands of people). If you were "chatting" with someone, you'd have to know about the chat software involved too (but in the end, it probably wouldn't give you more than an IP address either). Now I suppose if someone left an unsecure open wireless network at their home, some clever wardriving could locate an IP address to your actual home (assuming your ISP keeps your IP rather static). Either of these are a lot of effort and possibly some hacking just for some would-be stalker off the street.
Honestly, it's usually easier to get someone's name, plus a little info, and Google them.
Long story short, I still don't get how that helps someone locate your grocery store. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 1:03:33 PM | Eternelle got it right. Even if someone has your IP address, which is fairly easy to do, they can't easily get your address. Tracing the IP address over the Internet using traceroute tools can often get someone pretty close to your neighborhood, but it's not like they'll be able to narrow it down too closely. They would have to find a way to access your ISP's databases to get your address, and that's not easy to do and is very illegal.
There might be ways to do this fairly quickly, but it would take someone rather skilled in it to do it. Most people--even most "hackers"--wouldn't be able to get your home address from an IP address without court-ordered access to the ISP database. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 2:06:30 PM |
This traced me to within 2/10th of a mile close enough and whats to say he didn't do a trace as he was getting the e-mails. That would be close enough for concernthats for sure.
Well just for the record... I tried it and it was 6 1/2 miles away from where I live. Maybe if you lived in a smaller town it would map closer to you, but in a large city like mine isn't even remotely an issue. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 2:08:23 PM | It just might not be ,what it seems....Anyone can get a general idea as to city,state ,country a person lives in on the internet and rightfully so. Many dating sites like Plenty of fish still get scammers & fakes who are really living in another country. I know for a fact ,I have reported them & have been a victim of international scammer's in the past. By checking the full headers like with yahoo. You have to know which ip # usually the last recieved on list. If you ise geocities, tracer route it will bring up a list & map of general area. It will not show exact location. Some IP adresses can be blocked like with a laptop for some reason.Also some government or big companys re direct the adress elsewhere or to a coorporate location. I wanna be sure of who im talking to & will block someone if i find they arent who they say. If am unsure for any reason, I check . Just ask person to send me an email.
This man may not have had bad intentions, but i will bet you, it was him. he may have just wanted to check out where she was from & happened to run into her,maybe he had work to do out her way. Also many times people are really much closer than you think I see this so much with Men , they will use 2 towns over, on their profile.
You should have him meet you in a public place ,bring a friend & see if it was him.
If it is him tell him how he scared you . You decide if you are interested in him.
Dont live in fear. There are nice people out there. Always be safe & Enjoy each Day.
Best of Luck
K | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 2:11:05 PM | yes for certain you can find someone through a ip sniffer. my friend had one back in the day. once you get the ip number which you will give it anytime you send information anything email chat anything. If you want to be safe go to a library k or use a school comp. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 2:25:19 PM |
Well just for the record... I tried it and it was 6 1/2 miles away from where I live. Maybe if you lived in a smaller town it would map closer to you, but in a large city like mine isn't even remotely an issue.
Exactly. This sort of trace isn't actually tracing to your computer, exactly. It's really mapping the last known ISP network node that it has information for. That is often the device that your PC got its IP address from, but not necessarily. Depending on the network design, that device is often very far from your actual PC.
The short answer to this whole thread is this: you don't have to worry about people getting your home address. On the other hand, if you do run into someone with sufficient resources to get your home address from your PC, you would actually need to worry at that point. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 2:41:20 PM | | There is no hacking to it. An IP address is simply and address your ISP has provided you. it is general knowledge and is not such a big secret. However you may use proxies to cover your tracks a little better and use some common sense when selecting the services you are running on your computer. To make a long story short acquiring an IP address of anyone on the net is not illegal. Please keep in mind if you use a proxy service all of the information is sent to a chain of servers which is looping your information to its final destiny. This means I would highly suggest do not do anything financial or go into anything you feel needs to be secure with a Proxy running because it leaves a copy of your information there. Finally if you are using a IM of a sort I would suggest looking into and picking up a security package that hides the IP address. You should also try and cover as many open ports as possible on your terminal. Its amazing as soon as someone doesn't understand something its immediately proclaimed illegal. If you are really concerned about security and your internet experience I would also highly suggest picking up some books on the subject. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 2:52:33 PM | I said that getting the private home address information from the ISP without a warrant is illegal. IP address information is not private information and is easily discovered. If you were referring to my post, I think you either misread or misunderstood.
By the way, I've been in the data networking field for ten years, so I'm fairly familiar with this topic. No books necessary. :) The last thing I need is more books! | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 3:14:14 PM |
Well just for the record... I tried it and it was 6 1/2 miles away from where I live. Maybe if you lived in a smaller town it would map closer to you, but in a large city like mine isn't even remotely an issue.
It was about 10 miles away from me. That sort of thing doesn't trace it straight to your house. It just depends how close you live to the node that gets used. If I lived just one city over it would be within a few miles, maybe even less. Yeah, that's right, it pointed to a totally different city than the one I live in. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 3:18:30 PM |
It was about 10 miles away from me. That sort of thing doesn't trace it straight to your house.
That was kind of my point. :) Apparently all you men seem to keep forgetting that women can do network engineering too. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 3:25:37 PM | | I know that was the point, but I never said anything on it either. Just throwing another experience out there to say that it's not quite accurate, for people that wanna get paranoid over that. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 3:31:18 PM | Hi Lauren8,
After reading 2.5 pages, I am ready to throw in my two cents. Um, yeah it's weird. He lives 2.5 hours from you and HAPPENS to be in the same grocery store? I don't give a good damn how small his town might be, that is suspicious. It's likely him since he is a car dealer and the whole loaner plate bit. That was a clincher for me.
For those who have problems working out the logistics, here ya go: Had he traced the ISP from the OP's job where she used the hotmail account, he could have simply picked her up there and followed her to the store. I'm thinking he may know her shift because she talked with him while at work, probably mentioning it.
OP, Maybe he's harmless and wanted a closer look to see if you are who you say. However, he didn't think he'd get caught. After that, he was embarrassed and left. I hope it's as innocuous as that. Coincidentally, him exiting before you put you behind him. From my small town experience, many of the exits for stores focus on one route in/out of the parking lot. If you do speak to him again, I would ask him about it. Maybe too much time has passed and he'll pull an 'Eddie Murphy' but I would definitely clear the air by letting him know I DID realize it was him.
You are a little paranoid, but as my mom says, paranoia will keep you alive. LOL. I say, just be careful in future.
Edited to Add: It looks like he did pull an 'Eddie Murphy'. Classic and oh, so predictable. LOL. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 3:35:10 PM | | Always follow your instincts. These will protect you. If you see or feel red flags stop communicating with that person. Now you say you should have followed him..I am not trying to scare you but he could of followed you. Make sure you stay in a group if possible. Like I said any feelings you get that tell you something isnt right...follow them..your gut feeling is usually right...BE SAFE. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 3:58:09 PM | this may help:
http://www.anon-online.org/index_en.html (payed and free service)
or without any installation (but some annoying ads sometimes)
http://anonymouse.org/anonwww.html | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/13/2008 9:23:58 PM | Thank you, stormymonday (msg 85). You saved me from having to type it all out.
And, I must agree with neiby as well. Something doesn't seem kosher about getting the home address from the ISP. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/14/2008 1:46:32 AM | Its very easy if you know how to do it; I could do it in 30 seconds. Hotmail is about as anonymous as your photo at the DMV. Its not.
People are extremely naive. They just had a huge story where hackers are now getting information off of dating sites and social sites like myspace and facebook because the younger generation loves attention and they put their life story on the internet for all to see.
You need to stop the internet nonsense though; just stick to guys around you. You also shouldn't be accessing dating sites at work. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/14/2008 10:21:18 AM |
Its very easy if you know how to do it; I could do it in 30 seconds.
Sounds cool! Would you mind to tell me mine? 
seriously... and good luck! | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/14/2008 9:04:12 PM | Mthomjmark, I second restlessmind in asking you to share your knowledge. I am a friendly skeptic but ready to learn. A couple of other posters said they know people who can trace a home address from an IP address, but you are the first poster to possess the actual knowhow. Please rescue us from ignorance.
Its very easy if you know how to do it; I could do it in 30 seconds.
The reasons for my skepticism are below. I would like Mthomjmark and anyone else who claims to be able to trace one's location through IP number to share how these obstacles to user identification are addressed.
There is a limited number of IP numbers, not enough for all the Internet users (thus most ISP's assign dynamic vs static). So how is it possible to know if the computer identified is the same computer that used that IP address an hour ago, or two days ago etc?
As IP addresses belong to ISP's not individual users, how can info about end users be accessed without illegally hacking into the ISP's database?
My last point, and the one I usually raise when I hear incredible claims (sans supporting evidence) about the amazing things an anonymous "geek friend" can do to any computer connected to the Internet is - if it is so easy, legal and quick (30 secs to 10 mins claimed so far) to trace home addresses from email IPs then the people who know would be making millions selling this knowledge to every Private Investigation company out there. In addition, Microsoft would be aggressively working on the development of a patch to encrypt IP numbers in Microsoft Outlook's and hotmail's sent mail, as would AOL, Yahoo and every other email provider. But they aren't........why? Perhaps because an IP address does not pose a security risk? | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/15/2008 12:13:10 AM |
actually yes, it is possible to trace someone back to their ISP. not sure how easily it's done via anonymous email accounts such as hotmail, but it can be done. i have a friend who's a programming geek and he did this to prove a point when a girl contacted him online. after a bit of chatting she informed him that she was in fact underage...big red flags, and he wanted to shake some sense into her. within 10 minutes he'd traced back to her ISP and found the registered address of the account. when he was able to list off her exact street address she apparently found it to be a very sobering moment. he then discontinued chatting and hopefully made his point.
Does your friend realize hacking an ISP is a federal offense? If he ever got caught that's jail time. That is the only way he could get someone's info. [\quote]
No hacking is required. All the information is publicly and freely available. It is completely legal, and easy to do.
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/15/2008 12:30:20 AM |
Its very easy if you know how to do it; I could do it in 30 seconds.
Sounds cool! Would you mind to tell me mine?
seriously... and good luck!
A forum owner and I got into a discussion about this and he asked if he could try to find me as a test. I trusted the guy, and I was at work, so I said yes.
In less than 30 seconds he gave me the name of my employer and the address of the building I worked in. He said he could not trace it to me specifically within the company.
BTW, most people's home addresses are available online. You have to pay an extra fee for privacy.
Truth be told, anyone can follow you home if they wanted to. If you are afraid of being stalked on the net, then you should be afraid of being stalked by people living in your town. The danger of the internet is overrated and mostly hype. A local creep can follow you home and harm you just as badly as someone on the internet can do.
But yes, most people, especially young students, can be traced on the internet and tracked down in real life. It is not hard to do using non-techie methods and social networking websites. There are many newspaper articles about this. | |
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| Can one be traced to their ISP (computer),
Posted: 5/15/2008 2:56:32 AM | In less than 30 seconds he gave me the name of my employer and the address of the building I worked in. He said he could not trace it to me specifically within the company.
I've got a story like this too. While working on a story I was looking for a source to corroborate some information. I was on a message board when I read a statement about exactly what I needed confirmed. Of course, the post was anonymous.
I clicked on the message and was taken to a backdoor page that was all code. There I found the ISP number and a bunch of other data relating to the poster of that message. I took it to the IT department at the newspaper and asked the guy if he could track it for me. Less than an hour later, he told me the computer belonged to the state, the department where it was used and the address of the building.
After a FOIA request, the state had to tell me the name and other pertinent information of the employee using that computer. It was regarded as public information.
I bet she will forever be careful about what she does when on her work computer.  | |
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