Question about an I.P.

[Bulénath]

So I understand it is possible to find anyones I.P. through any post you make.
Is it also possible to run a search on that I.P. and find all other posts, on other websites, even if using a different user name?

 

[JJScorpio]

I'm not sure where you got that information. Are you talking your Internet provider or your IP Address?

 

[Bulénath]

It is not information I obtained, rather a thought.

I am talking about a person who really knows thier computers well, or possibly surveillance techniques any pig form any possible narcophobic branch could be using to get information prior to subpoena of your ISP.

 

[Tony Aroma]

If by I.P. you mean your IP address (and not internet provider), then yes, every web site you visit has a record of the IP address you visited it from. Unless you use a proxy.

But for most people the IP address that a web site records is not unique to an individual. Typically your service provider has many users sharing an IP address. At least as far as the rest of the web is concerned.

If you want to find out what IP address the world sees when you visit a web site, try a site like this. For example, when I go to that site through the proxy I use, it shows my IP address as being at a university in Germany. If I don't use a proxy, it shows an IP address in a location about 90 miles away from me, presumably where my service provider is connecting to the internet.

 

[catman]

I'm a bit more paranoid about my ip being on a proxy where it would be easy pickings to catch someone's eye... i mean, has anyone ever heard of getting busted because their isp ratted them out?

 

[Tony Aroma]

I'm a bit more paranoid about my ip being on a proxy where it would be easy pickings to catch someone's eye... i mean, has anyone ever heard of getting busted because their isp ratted them out?

I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. The purpose of using a proxy is to prevent a web site you are visiting from having a record you visited. When using a proxy, the web site you visit will record the proxy's IP address instead of yours.

Whenever you go to a web site, you are essentially sending out a request for information (the web page) with a return address to tell the server where to send that information (your computer). A proxy acts as a go-between. You send the request to the proxy, and the proxy forwards that request to the web site using its return address. When the proxy receives the web page data, it then forwards it to you. Typically, a proxy is not a single server, but several servers, so the route from the web page to you involves many go-betweens.

Here's an analogy that may help clarify: Let's say I want to order a book from Amazon, but I don't want them to have a record that I ordered that book. So I send my order to a friend who repackages and sends the order on to Amazon with his return address. When he receives the book, he repackages it and sends it to me. Now Amazon thinks he ordered the book, not me. And since my friend provides this service to lots of people, and doesn't keep records after he sends out the packages, it just appears to Amazon that my friend orders lots of books. Even if someone discovers that I sent an order to my friend for forwarding, they still don't know which of the many orders he placed was for me.

 

[Finklsteinshtkd]

thats true and all, however proxy sites aren't necessarily going to stick their neck out for anyone committing illegal activities when those records have been requested...anytime you send anything there are hundreds of copies of it all over the web...use tracert in command prompt to trace how many hops it takes to get to a certain websites server, each of those hops are routers and servers and all have their own copy of what goes on...just like sending a text message or picture message from a cell phone every point in between the sending and recieving parties will have their own copy/documentation of some sort. Using a proxy to access another proxy and then your webpage is a little better, and any proxy in another country will make a subpeona of records much more difficult/impossible...again it depends on what goes on...if your a sick f*** that likes kiddie porn then they'll get those records and the proxy won't hide you, so for the most part we're most likely small potatoes unless you post seed grows and distribute to seedbay or the likes.

I'd be more concerned with my computer being confiscated and my own computer ratting me out. Or whether or not a branch exists with my service provider to keep an eye on things and inform LEO.

 

[_Dude]

So I understand it is possible to find anyones I.P. through any post you make.
Is it also possible to run a search on that I.P. and find all other posts, on other websites, even if using a different user name?

No. The government doesn't have easy access to that info, at least not anywhere near the level of authority involved in investigating you (unless you're doing something way worse than growing).

It would take the NSA to do this, and it's a big deal. But that's just what I've read, so YMMV.

 

[VirginHarvester]

Tony Aroma, I understand what you're doing because I was wondering if I could do that myself. So how can I... is there an easy way?

 

[yamaha_1fan]

yes, just google proxy servers. There are free ones and ones you pay for.

Theres no software to install, at least not for me. You simply go to another site, and use that to access your other sites.

My proxy only keeps records for 24 hours, for maint purposes. That would mean, ICMag would have to have its servers raided, all the data reviewed, and my proxy served with a warrant in 24 hours. Not very likely.


When you visit a site, it logs your IP address. All that tells them is which ISP you used, and a general location. To get your personal information, they would need the ISP to give it to them.

 

[Tony Aroma]

Tony Aroma, I understand what you're doing because I was wondering if I could do that myself. So how can I... is there an easy way?

Yes, what Yamaha said.

I'd just like to add that there are two types of proxies. The kind that Yamaha described is the easiest to use, just visit the proxy site, enter your URL, and they take you to it via their server. Nothing to install. But I've found most of the free proxies of this type restrict what you can do and/or some things just don't work. For example if I use one of those, the pop-up menus on this site (like User Menu) don't work. And very few work with Google mail.

But there is another kind of proxy that I use most of the time. That involves downloading an application and then creating a special network connection that uses this proxy. It's not as simple to set up and you must change your settings every time you want to use it and then back again when you're done, but you can do anything with it and it's a multiple cascade, which is very secure. It's servers are all located in foreign countries. For example, check out JonDonym. I use Mac OS and it's pretty easy to set up and use. I imagine it's lots more complicated on Windows or UNIX.

 

[hehateme19]

Damn Ic mag folks have done it again. Its crazy if you look hard enough or keep checking active topics all of your questions will be answered.

Thanks for the info yamaha, tony and everyone else.......

Tony: so obviousley what you are saying is the proxy servers that you dont have to download anything for wouldn't really work for this site...correct?? I mean if you can't access the top menu's its pretty worthless right? Or am I missing something.

Or for someone who is using a free proxy server that you dont have to download anything from please enlighten us with your expierence using these, and also if possible a name of a site. I googled it but you know how that goes, soemtimes the best thing isnt always what google suggests.

Thanks

 

[spaceghost22]

I would have to say yes. I am paranoid like you as well. I used winPcap to crack someones router, so anything I post could in theory NEVER come back to me unless I am extra careless.

FYI, you need a $300 usb dongle to run this program in "easy" mode. By this I mean if you've never run your own script or cracked a router to "borrow" the net. If you'd like to learn how to do this stuff (Cracking), winPcap would be the place to start.

I'm still going to say yes. If I were tasked on a warrant (IF I were LEO) to monitor YOUR username, in theory I could "reverse engineer" your IP address down to at least your block (By in theory I mean hack through your proxy (if used), ISP servers, web sites etc.) I don't believe it could be done legally, but how much of what the man does is legal. I'm also not saying this would be easy or performable in any short amount of time in anyway, most things like this are not easy for the pros, you still have to debug and troubleshoot most of the time, even if you KNOW what you are doing. There are always unknown parameters. This would under all NORMAL circumstances require the consultation and aid of multiple people in multiple computer oriented professions. I'd say you'd never have to worry about it unless you're showing off your illegal multi-million dollar grow.

The easiest way to attract that kind of attention would probably be by mouth. Lets say you show your friend your posts on this site so he can check out your progress... then he gets busted and rolls on you. Now the man can watch you do your thing from the comfort of his office. Every post you submit equaling out to more case against you.

My philosophy is BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY! DON'T POST FROM YOUR HOME IP!... Never tell anyone you know your username here and you'll never have to ask this question again.

Just my 2 cents, non of it from a professional standpoint. However, this IS a field which attracts my attention. I may just yet go for a degree in Computer Sci. Depends if I can ever get my hands on that kind of money again. Loans are a bitch you know...

I hope I helped!

 

[spaceghost22]

Damn Ic mag folks have done it again. Its crazy if you look hard enough or keep checking active topics all of your questions will be answered.

Thanks for the info yamaha, tony and everyone else.......

Tony: so obviousley what you are saying is the proxy servers that you dont have to download anything for wouldn't really work for this site...correct?? I mean if you can't access the top menu's its pretty worthless right? Or am I missing something.

Or for someone who is using a free proxy server that you dont have to download anything from please enlighten us with your expierence using these, and also if possible a name of a site. I googled it but you know how that goes, soemtimes the best thing isnt always what google suggests.

Thanks

If it's a proxy that you want... then I would say anonymouse.org It's free and easy to use. Make sure you pay attention to what you're doing. Do about a days worth of reading before you trust your "weight" on it...

Use firefox's multi-proxy tools. You can assign hundreds of proxy servers. There are security risks associated with using a proxy too you know. I've read something about... tunneling I think. Other people can hijack your computer to launch DOS attacks or any other agenda they may have. You know, use YOUR IP to do the deed in case anything should fail, the feds will come to YOU and not THEM. Get it? It's unlikely seeing as I know of this. Most hacker teams work in secrecy. The techniques we know of are ALWAYS obsolete and less superior than what is being used and can be defended against if your savy. What you should be paranoid of it what we do NOT know, rather than what we do. At least you know what your dealing with. Who would've thought to guard against rainbow tables when they were busting into the police and federal databases. The Gov't got pissed about those.

Download some security books, build a Linux firewall out of an old computer. Hack a router, do what ever you can. If you can separate your real name from your username, that is all that matters in the court. Like I said before, use another line and the only thing you have to worry about are your own loose lips. If they are not loose, your scot free...

hope this helps!

 

[yamaha_1fan]

My proxy does something like rewrite Java before sending it to me. I cant use the smilie window. If I know the code I can enter a smilie Thats the only one I can remember. I cant access some of the menus up top but I can get into all the forums, I can search posts and get into my control panel and post pics.

I can not filter threads or use thread tools or use chat.

coming up on 3000 posts I think and it has not really bothered me

 

[Tony Aroma]

Tony: so obviousley what you are saying is the proxy servers that you dont have to download anything for wouldn't really work for this site...correct?? I mean if you can't access the top menu's its pretty worthless right? Or am I missing something.

Yes and no. The one that I normally use, JonDonym, occasionally goes down, sometimes for days at a time. That's the free proxies it connects to -- the ones you pay for seldom go down for any length of time. But if I need to post to my blog or I just can't wait to read the latest postings on ICMag, then I use one of the other kind. Some let you do more than others. You just have to try them and see what you can and can't do. For example, after some experimenting, I found one that lets me access and post to my blog. And on most sites there is more than one way to navigate. So it's better than nothing.

But there's no point in my posting the proxies that work for me, as I use Mac OS, so I use the ones that work best for me. I'm guessing most users on this site use Windows. I know very little about Windows and how it works or the possibility of some kind of malware infection. I can't get a virus or anything like that, so I don't really think about that aspect. You should. If you're serious about this, just do a little research and learn a little about proxies and how they work. Google "proxy" and you'll get 1000s of hits. Do a little reading and try a few and see how they work for you. That's what I did.

Also, as others have said, you should probably worry more about what's on your own computer -- pictures, grow logs, browser history, etc. I don't think any of these things will get you busted, but if you do get busted they will be evidence against you. Keep your pictures and records encrypted or separate from your computer, and don't leave a history of visited sites on your browser. If you're using the Safari browser (available on Windows), you can just use the Private Browsing option to not leave any record on your computer of the sites you visited.

 

[VirginHarvester]

Let me ask you about security when posting on this site or through PMs, is there any way for someone to trace your IP that way... Is that why we are talking about this subject, because in face just posting and PMing on here gives someone the opportunity to track at least your general vicinity if not on a proxy?

 

[SpacedCWBY]

Unless they can get through a linux web server's security into the actual files on that server, it's highly unlikely. Given the nature of this site and the trust we all bestow upon our overly gracious webmasters, I'm sure they've got the security tighter than a nun's cooter. I would be more concerned with using a wireless connection near your home. There are a lot of teenage kids that have figured out how to crack WEP encryption using specialized linux distros. Can be done in about 10-15 minutes. That's where I'd be a little more concerned.

Take a read here, may help answer some of your questions. for those who are concerned about spying

 

[VirginHarvester]

There are a lot of teenage kids that have figured out how to crack WEP encryption using specialized linux distros. Can be done in about 10-15 minutes. That's where I'd be a little more concerned.

Yes, but first they have to have the skill, then they have to pick up the signal, then they have to know the location of the signal they are finding. What I mean is, my wireless doesn't work beyond the borders of my yard for the most part- the signal isn't that strong. So my perception is anyone looking to hack might have to be in my yard, a close neighbor- which I don't have- or someone down the street finding a real weak signal. To do anything with that info they have to know it's me and my location, right? Now, with what I'm describing I'm talking about my perception that they intercept your signal and just unscramble it to see what you're sending and receiving over the net. But a lot of that is just surfing and doesn't identify me. If they can unscramble my signal and hack into my computer somehow to find my identity and location that would be pretty scary. It just seems pretty unlikely is all I'm saying. Not that it doesn't concern me, just that it seems pretty unlikely. Now, if I were growing at my location you can bet I would stop communicating on this board via wireless and only on a hard-wired line. That seems obvious just in case for whatever reason the cops decided to sit outside my house and collect info.

By the way, I have one computer connected via ethernet cable coming out of my wireless router. So as I understand it that computer though pulling bandwidth through the router is not getting wireless, that is its communications cannot be hacked by someone picking up wireless transmissions. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand that computer to be pulling bandwidth directly from my high speed connection out of the wall, it just passes through the router. I hope that's right so that it's more secure than my wireless laptop.

 

[midwestganja]

By the way, I have one computer connected via ethernet cable coming out of my wireless router. So as I understand it that computer though pulling bandwidth through the router is not getting wireless, that is its communications cannot be hacked by someone picking up wireless transmissions. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I understand that computer to be pulling bandwidth directly from my high speed connection out of the wall, it just passes through the router. I hope that's right so that it's more secure than my wireless laptop.

They hack your wireless router and you're doomed, though.