how easy is it to figure out who is posting what?

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: sygyzy
It wasn't a personal attack on you. It just is kind of funny when all these part-time P.I's come out of the wood work and they are not too sure about tools themselves.

My apologies, I meant for my response to have a more casual tone with case in point kind of thing. It came off rather hostile instead.

 

[SKORPI0]

Originally posted by: Xavier434
........................
Here is something to wet your appetite:

Simply visit this site to see a map showing an estimate of where your computer is located.

If you want more then google "IP Trace"

Tried it, not even close to my general location w/c is 25miles SW of Chicago, IL.

Heres a more accurate website with a map included. IP Address
Gets me within 2 miles, 10 blocks away.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Originally posted by: yllus

Originally posted by: KarmaPolice

Originally posted by: yllus
If you're smart and careful, you can zero down on a person's geographical location to the city level within about ten minutes. Based on that, an approximate idea of their age/ethnicity and usually their first name... Not too difficult.

you personally could do that? I don't really care but I was hoping to prove my friend wrong

Well, let's say your profile info is mostly correct.

Your first name is Tom, you live in NC, USA. To zero down on the city information that lets me proceed to the next step, I embed a link to an image in a private message that I send to you.

I then check my server logs to see what IP accessed that image. Now I've got your first name, IP address, state and country. I can use a site like http://www.ip2location.com/ or better yet, a geolocation DB w/demographics info to figure out your city.

Now I can start Googling your name to see what else comes up. If that fails, depending on how determined I am, I can start trying the major utilities and service providers in your area, either posing as you or as your son, brother, etc. That'll probably net me a last name and possible a phone number.

I was actually going to demonstrate all of this for real with you, but my webserver is down so I can't send you a PM with an image in it that I can look up.

LoL so i see you've done this before ?

 

[Xavier434]

That site was 3 miles from my location and it managed to accurately identify my Organization and Host. Not bad.

 

[Reel]

If the government had reason to track you down, they probably could make it happen. I live my life in a manner that I don't have to worry about the government wanting to find me so I am not concerned.

 

[imported_Baloo]

I was going to ignore this, but seems to be a lot of paranoid people posting in this thread. No way they could track it to you in minutes, or hours. It would take days. There is a legal process. Getting your IP merely narrows it down to your ISP. Your isp could have 10's of thousands of subscribors in your region. Then you have to get a court order to subpeona the isp to find out which subscriber was using that isp on a particular date and time, and the jusge is going to need probable cause. That can narrow it down only to the houshold. The only way from there is to get somebody in the house to say who the user is. And yes, I am aware that some government agencies ignore the law and go direct to the isp to request the info, and some ISP also ignore the law and give it. No matter, it still takes time, somebody has to drive to the house to question the people that live there, even if only one lives there - the ISP don't know that.

 

[imported_Baloo]

Originally posted by: Xavier434
Most of it boils down to tracing an IP and linking user names across common social grounds on the internet.

It sounds like your friend is more of a conspiracy theorist than anything. The government has ways of doing things, but the vast majority of them are the same ways that tech geeks write articles and instructions about all over the internet. The difference is that the government has access to databases of information on all registered citizens such as your SS#, address, etc etc etc. What they do is create custom software tools which make it easy to utilize many of the proven techniques that are available to you after 5 minutes of searching on Google. Combine the techniques with their databases and there you have it.

Here is something to wet your appetite:

Simply visit this site to see a map showing an estimate of where your computer is located.


If you want more then google "IP Trace"

Oh this made me laugh. Our government has old outdated systems for databases, and no such ability linking them all together as described here. It is opossible, but the cost to do such a thing is tremendous. It ain't just a matter of linking servers via a netork. That's easy, it's making the databases from the various departments compatible with each other, and writing the software to carry out the functions, and securing it from intrusion, that's extremely expensive. Not likely to happen in your lifetime.

 

[PrinceofWands]

To give you some perspective:

I was in my first day of training classes for a new job and our trainer and I hit it off fairly well. We somehow got on the subject of middle names and he refused to give his. He was ANAL about security and was always very careful not to give out any info. I mean it was a serious obsession with him. At about 11am he challenged me - "If you can find out my middle name before you're done with training I'll buy you lunch anywhere you want to go."

At about 2pm I raised my hand and told him his middle name. This was done entirely from the classroom, though we did have a lunch break in there where I used my phone to make a few calls.

So yes, anyone can find out anything if they just know what they're doing...and it doesn't take long at all.

 

[jlee]

Originally posted by: nweaver

Originally posted by: Xavier434
Most of it boils down to tracing an IP and linking user names across common social grounds on the internet.

It sounds like your friend is more of a conspiracy theorist than anything. The government has ways of doing things, but the vast majority of them are the same ways that tech geeks write articles and instructions about all over the internet. The difference is that the government has access to databases of information on all registered citizens such as your SS#, address, etc etc etc. What they do is create custom software tools which make it easy to utilize many of the proven techniques that are available to you after 5 minutes of searching on Google. Combine the techniques with their databases and there you have it.

Here is something to wet your appetite:

Simply visit this site to see a map showing an estimate of where your computer is located.


If you want more then google "IP Trace"

not even the right state...not even next to the right state.

It says I live in 'S-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands...?

 

[yllus]

Originally posted by: Baloo
I was going to ignore this, but seems to be a lot of paranoid people posting in this thread. No way they could track it to you in minutes, or hours. It would take days. There is a legal process. Getting your IP merely narrows it down to your ISP. Your isp could have 10's of thousands of subscribors in your region. Then you have to get a court order to subpeona the isp to find out which subscriber was using that isp on a particular date and time, and the jusge is going to need probable cause. That can narrow it down only to the houshold. The only way from there is to get somebody in the house to say who the user is. And yes, I am aware that some government agencies ignore the law and go direct to the isp to request the info, and some ISP also ignore the law and give it. No matter, it still takes time, somebody has to drive to the house to question the people that live there, even if only one lives there - the ISP don't know that.

Who said anything about the government or legal means? A little bit of human engineering is usually all you need.

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: KarmaPolice
How easy is it to figure out the name of someone on a msg board like this? My friend and I were having an arguement. He said that no matter what you put online someone like the government can trace it back to increadibly easily. He is kinda a consipiracy lover and avoids using the internet for this reason...


Thoughts?

Does not compute

Seriously though I don't get this mentality. I know a guy who's similarly paranoid, only with his home network security. He acts like Bob the plumber down the street is a closet hacker who's going to find out he's a secret double agent. Except neither is true