Saftey Issues Question

[runaway]

Can a person track down your personal home address using your IP address? I only ask because I noticed a few people attaching that horrid little IP monster sucker into their signature ... and then putting messages on there saying things like “be nice or I’ll crash your computer”. I think this is horribly mean and awful.

All I'm mostly worried about is saftey, but of course I'd be angry if they really could crash your system using one of those things.

So, can anyone tell me if those little monsters are benign or can they be used in harmful ways?

If so, then they should be banned.

[Guest]

Can a person track down your personal home address using your IP address? I only ask because I noticed a few people attaching that horrid little IP monster sucker into their signature ... and then putting messages on there saying things like “be nice or I’ll crash your computer”. I think this is horribly mean and awful.

All I'm mostly worried about is saftey, but of course I'd be angry if they really could crash your system using one of those things.

So, can anyone tell me if those little monsters are benign or can they be used in harmful ways?

If so, then they should be banned.

It is POSSIBLE, but the time and effort involved makes it near impossible. Crashing your computer is far more plausible. I wouldn't worry about it.

Those little signs only run off a Java script. Your IP isn't actually being sent anywhere.

[ChrisKnight]

So, can anyone tell me if those little monsters are benign or can they be used in harmful ways?

If so, then they should be banned.

Don't worry about it.

The only way anyone can pull a physical address from an IP is if your ISP releases the information, and that only happens when the police step in and have a subpoena for that specific information.

[seppuku]

They could get your general area from the IP, then with the help of a PI or some detective work of their own figure it out. Someone would have to be seriously jacked in their head to go through the effort required to do that.

[Red Barchetta]

In most cases, an IP alone can be used to get the Service Provider, and MAYBE a GENERAL location, but not an exact name or street address. That type of information is for the most part only accessible by those working for the ISP in question. And on top of that, since most of the time (especially for home use) IP addresses are dynamic, the same IP could be used by different people on different days - or, especially in the case of dial-up users, even on the same date at different times.

Basically, you would have to go to the ISP that owns the IP block, and have the exact IP that you wish to investigate, and the date and time of it's use. Most ISPs will NOT, even then, give out that information without a court order. - That's part of the reason why, when you do hear of copyright infringement law-suits (mostly having to do with music, movies, exc.) via the Internet, it's a bunch at once. The people complaining, wait till they have a bunch, then get there court order for the exact name and address of there suspects (avoids seeing a judge every day).

SOMETIMES there are other ways of finding out. But the bottom line is the risk is so minimal it's hardly worth considering at all (you have a better chance of getting hit by a car, while crossing the street on foot, when doing so at the corner, and waiting until traffic appeared to be stopped totally before stepping in to the road at all).

[Sunshine2585]

Runaway, you should look at this thread. It explains more about what those things in people's sigs are.

[AutieAB]

Relax... The ONLY people who can link your IP address (and a date/time stamp would almost certainly be needed too) to the phone number your accessing from and therefore physical address, etc., are your ISP and they can't hand over that info without a subpoena/warrant/etc from some kind of law enforcement. They can't legally give that info to Joe Public for obvious reasons.

[Red Barchetta]

One quick note - to use an IP address to mess with your system, you would need some sort of server installed and running on your system. Basically the way that usually works is a server is "hidden" inside a Application, Game, exc. and send the current IP address to whomever is trying to plant the server. For the most part, some sort of invisible RAT server is used for this purpose (RAT=Remote Administration Tool) - but this method is not really all that effective anymore, as most virus scanners will detect them, and alert you to there presents - allowing you to deny the RAT server access to the Internet, making it useless and nonfunctional. Some newer invisible RAT servers MIGHT get through a virus scanner, but if you have a firewall installed as well, it's highly unlikely to allow access without you knowing about it - except perhaps if the server is running on a port commonly used for other things (like port 80 = Common HTTP server, 21 = Common FTP server, 25 = Common Mail server, exc.) but for the most part you want to avoid those ports because some ISPs block them for use as a server unless you pay extra to use them for server functions - and if you happen to have something already running on those ports, there will be a conflict, and you will know of it that way. (NOTE: ISPs that block those ports only block them from Internet access, however, they could still be used to run a server for access within your personal network only)

[runaway]

Thank you everyone for putting my concerns to 'rest'. I appreciate it.

That 'Sunshine' link helped lots too

Hey Red, you kinda lost me after 'One quick note...' lol, I'ma science drip, not a computer science geek Thanks for putting that effort into your post though! I'm sure someone will understand and benefit from it.

[cuteabdl]

If you really don't want anyone knowing your IP address you can download software that will hide it.

[AutieAB]

Without wanting to get too technical, you're also protected by your modem/router (if you're on DSL or similar).

What the router does is creates a very simple network of just one or two computers (however many you've got hooked up to it). The upshot of doing this is that the router creates a barrier between your computer(s) and the outside world as all communications have to go through it (a gateway) and making your computer all but invisible in the process. Most routers have some simple yet brutally effective ways of making sure that nasty stuff from the outside stays outside and never gets near your computer. Simply, if you haven't allowed the incoming nasty, then it won't let it through to your computer.

If you want a really interesting read , look up Network address translation (or NAT)

[BoTox]

Without wanting to get too technical, you're also protected by your modem/router (if you're on DSL or similar).

What the router does is creates a very simple network of just one or two computers (however many you've got hooked up to it). The upshot of doing this is that the router creates a barrier between your computer(s) and the outside world as all communications have to go through it (a gateway) and making your computer all but invisible in the process. Most routers have some simple yet brutally effective ways of making sure that nasty stuff from the outside stays outside and never gets near your computer. Simply, if you haven't allowed the incoming nasty, then it won't let it through to your computer.

If you want a really interesting read , look up Network address translation (or NAT)

There are lots of things that can be done but most of them are not going to work unless you can be tricked into clicking a link that isn't what it claims. Well, that is unless it claims to be a trojan. Then you get into the circular logic of if it claims to be a trojan can it really be? Firewalls have been know to have bugs as well that will allow things they shouldn't. Exploits are uncovered daily for one thing or another.

And it isn't that your ISP can't give out info without court orders, they just have a policy that says they don't because who would use an ISP that would give you up over any little thing? Any server you've accessed most likely has a log of your IP and with enough data, can be used to completely reconstruct your activity while online. Every single router you pass through while on the internet has the ability to capture and log where/what/when you accessed the internet. The internet is far from anonymous to those with a little skill.

IP's can't identify you to a complete physical address. Only the ISP has the info to put that together. IP address can be changed. I had a different one last month than I do this month. I've had to track down IP addresses before and you can only go so far without having access to the physical device a person is connected to and the records of where that particular device is located.

A person with a firewall is far more likely to get hacked by a local using your wireless router than anything. There are two open routers within range of me and they are vanilla default Netgear and Linksys routers.

[AutieAB]

And it isn't that your ISP can't give out info without court orders, they just have a policy that says they don't because who would use an ISP that would give you up over any little thing? Any server you've accessed most likely has a log of your IP and with enough data, can be used to completely reconstruct your activity while online. Every single router you pass through while on the internet has the ability to capture and log where/what/when you accessed the internet. The internet is far from anonymous to those with a little skill.

Depends where you live. In the UK, all companies (including ISPs) are covered by the Data Protection Act (1998) which prohibits the disclosure of personal information, including internet usage records, other than when [a] the customer says it's ok and when the plods turn up with a warrant. Most other European countries have an equivalent, as do Australia and Canada. I know that the USA has no such federal law but many states do. If yours does not, I suggest you write your congressman, to use an Americanism .

IP's can't identify you to a complete physical address. Only the ISP has the info to put that together. IP address can be changed. I had a different one last month than I do this month.

Hence why I and others said you'd need a time/date stamp to match an IP record to a real-world address. Most people have a dynamic IP address which changes anywhere from every few hours to every few months. Dial-up users change their IP every time the connect.

A person with a firewall is far more likely to get hacked by a local using your wireless router than anything. There are two open routers within range of me and they are vanilla default Netgear and Linksys routers.

Yup, but that's a fundamentally different problem - user stupidity. Setting up a wifi network is not something that should be done by the totally clueless unless they're capable and willing to actually RTFM. People have a tendency to just plug something in and if it works (which often it will given the ease of use of USB, plug-and-play, etc) they think it's job done without ever reading the section of the manual entitled "How to stop your neighbours stealing your Wi-Fi."

User stupidity is the single biggest threat to user security on the net, bar none. Take phishing, for example. Look at the grammar used in those messages (red flag 1), look at the way it asks for your name, address, phone number, card number, account number, routing/sort-code, user name, password and SSN/NINO (red flag 2). Look at all the publicity that phishing has received over the past two years or so (red flag 3), the warnings you have to read when you sign up for online banking (red flag 4!), and so on, given all those things, nobody should fall for phishing attacks. But they do. Even trained IT security professionals have fallen for these sorts of things. They do because they stupidly think "it won't happen to me," thinking which, is the first warning sign that you're about to do something really, truely, spectacularly dumb.