[aqibsahib]

Can someone track a user (name, home address, etc.) simply by having their email or IP address? The reason I ask is my kids play some games online, and these sites sometimes have a chat area, where the players can talk to each other while playing. Can my kids be tracked down in any way?"

Are You Invisible Online?

It's true that your IP address is no secret. It's a basic part of internet communication protocols to send your IP address whenever you connect to another site, request a web page, chat, play an online game, etc. Without your IP address, the computer on the other end wouldn't know where to send the reply.

But that doesn't mean that Evildoers can find your house if they know your IP address. Each time you go online (if you have dialup) or each time you start your computer (if you have cable or dsl) you will be assigned an IP address, randomly selected from a pool of IP's assigned to your Internet service provider (ISP). WHOIS Your ISP

So a person MIGHT be able to get a general idea of your geographic location, based on your IP address, by doing a lookup on the WHOIS database, but that will only tell them the physical location of your ISP -- not YOUR home address.

And if you use a large regional or nationwide ISP, the IP lookup probably reveals nothing of interest. For example, if you are an AOL subscriber, your IP address lookup will show the location as Dulles, Virginia -- regardless of where you live. When The Law Comes A Knockin'

Of course there is an exception to every rule. If Joe or Jane User calls your ISP and wants to know who was using a certain IP address last Tuesday, the ISP will tell them to go away. But if an officer of the law hands your ISP a court order to reveal that information, they must do so. Your ISP's logs will enable them to determine which customer was using a certain IP address on a certain date & time, and they must reveal that information if a court has found probable cause that a crime was committed by that person.

But for the truly paranoid (or the criminally inclined) there are ways to surf the web anonymously. The Anonymizer service will act as a proxy between you and your ISP, and they claim that your information cannot be subpoenaed because they do not store it. What About Email Addresses?

The same concepts apply to your email address. The part that follows the "@" sign is your ISP's domain name. And given the domain name, one can determine the ISP's physical location, but nothing personally identifying about the email user without a court order.

Web-based email accounts are not truly anonymous, either. Even if you don't provide your real name when signing up, they can capture your IP address and track you through your ISP if necessary. Other Considerations

It's much more likely that you or your children will reveal your physical location the old fashioned way -- by just blurting it out. Kids who chat or play online games should be reminded often that they should never reveal any personal information, including their last name, phone number or home address.

[Sooshi]

Actually this isn't necessarily true. If you have a static IP, which differs from a dynamic IP, your IP never changes and therefore your physical location can be tracked down through many IP look-up services on the Internet.

[talktik]

I am not really know much about this,but if I am using proxy or vpn access is that secure enough to make my trace invisible ?

[Sooshi]

Yes, a proxy is enough to protect you from your physical location, because your connection goes through a different access point before reaching the site, making it appear like the connection is coming from somewhere else.

[Bradstar]

If you are in a chat room there is no way of another member knowing you ip unless you tell them usally only admin's can view this.

I don't think you can see other people's address if you have their IP if you really want to find out then try doing some more research on this issue.

[sinip]

talktik, on 08 June 2010 - 06:46 AM, said:

I am not really know much about this,but if I am using proxy or vpn access is that secure enough to make my trace invisible ?

Nothing can make you really invisible if someone REALLY wants to find you...

[Sooshi]

Especially if your government is after you o___o

[apnamoney]

can somebody explain me what is static ip and what is dynamic ip address?
i get really confused in between these two.

[rhyker2u]

not all proxies are anonymous ... infact most proxies still include the originating IP. VPN solves those problems. However VPN is quite slow.

[tonycrested]

not really, it only reveals the location of your ISP only. depending on where your ISP is located will reflect
your place of location. so with this every other thing follows

[sinip]

apnamoney, on 13 February 2011 - 08:21 AM, said:

can somebody explain me what is static ip and what is dynamic ip address?
i get really confused in between these two.

Static IP is IP that never changes. So you get one IP from your ISP and that one is yours forever, or as long as you use that ISP. Dynamic IP however changes every time you get connected to the internet, or switch off then on your (cable or ADSL) modem.

[crazymonitor]

yes it can. if you have power in policy n rights. like national security hehehe

[rohit]

I am not really know much about this,but if I am using proxy or vpn access is that secure enough to make my trace invisible ?