Tracking Ip addresses....

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:33

hi guys, having a debate on another forum about this.
Is it possible for the owner of a forum to track the identity/location of a given individual using IP tracking? As far as I am aware unless you have a static ip address you cannot be easily tracked. Another problem arises when using public machines or proxy servers. Just curious to know what the real state of affairs is. Some people saying that dodgy posts could be reported to the authorities but im not 100% sure on this. It isn't a dodgy topic off course its just purely out of interest and based on the forum rules on another board.
thanks

(hope GD is the right section for this)

Fraggr · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:35

Probably better in the networks + internet connectivity forum.

Yes it is possible to track someone using their IP address.

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:38

Fraggr said:
Probably better in the networks + internet connectivity forum.

Yes it is possible to track someone using their IP address.

ah ok, mods if u want to move this please do so.

Ok so IPs are trackable then. Can you determine someones address or just a kind of rough estimate? Will an IP address not be different each time you access the net? Are MAC addresses involved?

touch · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:40

you can get quite a lot of details from ip etc:

(OS and browser details are obviously not from ip)

Fraggr · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:42

I remember a program that tracked IPs, can't remember how precise it was though.

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:42

gee, you are scaring me now!!

Can u tell what i had for tea tonight?!

Fraggr · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:44

jonnyc747 said:
gee, you are scaring me now!!

Can u tell what i had for tea tonight?!

Spaghetti bolognaise.

Edit: and you have brown hair.

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:46

Fraggr said:
Spaghetti bolognaise.

Edit: and you have brown hair.

lol, wrong on the dinner, correct on the hair!

Fraggr · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:47

jonnyc747 said:
lol, wrong on the dinner, correct on the hair!

Did I say spaghetti? I meant nothing yet/pizza/meat-based meal.

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:51

im only catching on that the sig u posted was only a link to me and displays each persons local information! I thought you had discovered at the info for yourself!

touch · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:53

yeh, but thats the same info that people can find out who have your ip address (like the forum admin who has your ip)

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:55

touch said:
yeh, but thats the same info that people can find out who have your ip address (like the forum admin who has your ip)

yeah but once that ip is logged and then i reconnect to the net with a different IP how does that link back to me?

Knowing my IP address, browser, platform and what I had for tea will never lead to finding my house address will it?

Redrum · 9 Feb 2007 at 18:58

In terms of reporting things to the authorities, it is irrelevant whether an IP is static or dynamic, as long as you log the exact time as well, because the ISP can identify one of its users from the time and IP together. Without involving the authorities, there are various things you can do yourself, which will allow you to see which ISP it is. You can also normally determine which country the IP is used in, and in some cases, which city/region of that country, although its not entirely accurate. The only way generally to get the exact address is from the ISP, who will usually not give that information out to just anyone. Often a court order is required.

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 19:01

ah thanks for thats its making sense now. Hadn't even clicked with me that the ISP would be involved. What about using proxy servers then?

kitfit1 · 9 Feb 2007 at 19:04

Redrum said:
Often a court order is required.

In the UK a court order is always required, except under the prevention of terrorism acts.

Redrum · 9 Feb 2007 at 19:07

jonnyc747 said:
ah thanks for thats its making sense now. Hadn't even clicked with me that the ISP would be involved. What about using proxy servers then?

Depends on the type of proxy, as with some, you can see the clients IP anyway. In this case I would assume the proxy is going to be used with the explicit purpose of anonymity, in which case it would be an anonymous proxy, meaning getting the IP would be virtually impossible.

kitfit1 · 9 Feb 2007 at 19:07

jonnyc747 said:
What about using proxy servers then?

I think i know where you questioning is coming from. The short answer is no. You can hide, but if someone wants to find you they can even if you think you are hidden behind a proxy.

ringo747 · 9 Feb 2007 at 19:12

ok guys thanks a lot, think i can go off and state my case here! cheers

WotDa · 9 Feb 2007 at 20:48

On an old forum of mine an argument started with me in the center, I suggested that I knew the rules more than the mods etc etc, long story short, one of the admins posted a long list of my IP's over the past 2 years.

So, even with a Dynamic IP the forum software, even after a complete re-work knew them all (Unless he went through nearly 2K posts just to prove a negligible point).

He then suggested that if I put one foot out of line he'd ban me despite my dynamic IP's (ie: MAC address), so yes, an IP, can, be tracked back to your MAC address, and I assume if it can be tracked down to that they could know your location too.

Not sure on the point of that post now, after I've typed it all though.

Redrum · 9 Feb 2007 at 22:25

WotDa said:
so yes, an IP, can, be tracked back to your MAC address, and I assume if it can be tracked down to that they could know your location too.

No it can’t. Not over the Internet anyway as its not a local network, so packets get repackaged with the mac code of the previous hop. He would have gotten the IP addresses just from you being logging into the forums I would imagine.

If it were that easy to properly ban people from forums, why does OcUK have problems with people who have been banned registering new accounts?