Ok, ok, I know you've seen them. All those pop up windows claiming that "You're being watched!" or banner ads saying "Your computer is under surveillance!" And all you need...
"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, wh...
Hiding your IP address is the best way for surfing the net anonymously. IP address is the Internet protocol address. This is the unique address of a computer on the Internet. The IP address consists o...
DNS errors generally occur when the IP address for a typed domain name cannot be found. This may happen when the server speed is too slow, so the time taken to find the IP address lapses. This is a ge...
First, check what your current IP address is. Please attempt the following then, if that does not work, visit the change IP address forum. Before trying any other methods to change your IP address, ...
An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique number that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP)....
Ok, ok, I know you've seen them. All those pop up windows claiming that "You're being watched!" or banner ads saying "Your computer is under surveillance!" And all you need to do is buy their product and your computer's visbility will disappear from the Internet. Well, to state the obvious, that's just not true.
We have to give those companies some credit though - they are giving you half of the truth. If they were giving you the whole story, what they'd be saying is that their software will make your surfing tracks disappear from your personal computer. Not from the Internet.
Now, with that said, don't just blow off these products saying "if they can't get rid of all my personal surfing records then what good are they?" These products actually address the more important half of the issue. The effective ones really do clean up your personal computer! To me this is very important because it's easier for people to get your computer's Internet records, via hacking, tracking or outright theft, than it is for them to get any other type of Internet records.
Want proof? Just ask Gary Glitter, a 1960's pop star who took his personal computer in to have a repair done. The shop found both pictures and other evidence of illegal Internet activity and called the cops! Glitter spent time in jail because he didn't "clean up his act" before he took the computer in for a repair.
The other half of this issue and the one that is a bit more complicated to address is made up of all the records established and held by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), Internet routers (computer "traffic cops" that route Internet requests around the web) and website hosting servers.
These computers are completely outside your scope of influence. You can't just call up your ISP and tell them to delete all records that pertain to your account! Once they are done laughing, they will let you know that to do that they would have to cull through literally millions of records for any given day to pull out your two or three hundred records. The effort would be enormous and they don't have the resources to do this kind of work.
Besides, these logs are used mostly to trouble shoot server / router errors and to help stop hacker abuse and other kinds of DOS (Denial of Service) attacks.
But you can affect the information that gets stored in these logs. To understand this you need to know how the process works. Here are the basic steps:
-You sign on to your ISP.
-Your ISP assigns you an IP (Internet Protocol) address. An IP address is a series of numbers that tell the computer where you are connecting from and who to send information to.
-You type in a web address in your browser and send that request to your ISP.
-Your ISP logs the request, along with your assigned IP address and then goes out to the Internet to request the web page.
-The ISP's request goes through multiple routers, each one logging who made the request and forwarding on the request to the next until it gets to the server hosting the web page.
-The host server logs the request and sends the information back out, often through a completely different set of routers, each one again logging the request and passing it on to the next until it gets back to your ISP.
-Your ISP looks up in it's log who made the initial request and sends it on to you.
-You get the page, a temporary copy is stored on your hard drive.
-You click on a link or enter in a new web address and the process starts all over again!
So for every request you make to your ISP, not only does that request get stored on your computer, it gets stored on a number of other computers as well! Comforting right?
Well there is a way to hide, or mask would be a better term, your web surfing activities. You need to use an anonymous surfing tool. Sites like Anonymizer.com or the-cloak.com offer an online proxy type service that takes advantage of SSL and encryption to keep your surfing tracks to yourself.
All requests made to them through SSL are encrypted so even your ISP can't read what you requested. This secure connection is the same type that ecommerce sites use to protect your credit card data. Then all requests they make for you reference their computers as the originator of the request so all the routers and web host servers see is their IP address! Your personal and or browser information is blocked from the Internet.
So, if you really want to protect your privacy, give the snoopers a one - two punch. Clean up your act by using one of the history / cookie clean up tools available for download AND surf through one of the anonymous surfing providers out on the net.
Michael Ameye has been developing web sites since 1995. He started writing about online privacy issues to answer questions from family, friends and co-workers. Visit http://www.canyourspam.com to see his latest work.
He is also the chief editor of PSS Online, A Privacy, Safety and Security eZine dedicated to bringing important information to people in order to foster a safer more secure environment - online and off. Visit http://www.pssonline.info to subscribe.
"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.
Oh, and if you have any spyware or viruses on your system, all bets are off. These things are designed to violate your privacy. If you need help with scanning your system for spyware, adware and other unwanted pests, see my articles How can I avoid computer viruses? and Spy, Counter-Spy (http://www.askbobrankin.com/spy_counter-spy.html) for details on how to protect yourself from those risks.
BOB RANKIN... is a tech writer and computer programmer who enjoys exploring the Internet and sharing the fruit of his experience with others. His work has appeared in ComputerWorld, NetGuide, and NY Newsday. Bob is publisher of the Internet TOURBUS newsletter, author of several computer books, and creator of the http://LowfatLinux.com website. Visit Bob Rankin's website for more helpful articles and free tech support.
Hiding your IP address is the best way for surfing the net anonymously. IP address is the Internet protocol address. This is the unique address of a computer on the Internet. The IP address consists of four numbers divided by periods. These numbers indicate the domain, the subnetwork, the network and the host computer. Each IP address mostly has an equivalent domain name address, spelled with four letters. It is very important to hide your IP address online. Hiding your IP address online ensures that your personal information is not leaked out to the outsiders.
By installing software in your PC, you can hide your IP address. Anonymous surfing of the web will enable you to safeguard your Internet privacy. There is nothing illegal in hiding your IP address, for the proper reasons. If you have any doubt regarding this you can always consult your legal advisor. The legal advisor can guide you about the matter.
An IP address changer can help you change your IP address when you are surfing online. The tools of IP address changer will let you change your IP address anytime by routing your Internet traffic through an overseas server. The tool has drop down box that enables the user to choose an IP address from one of the countries mentioned in the box. Hiding your IP address is the best option to protect your self from any kind of fraud.
Hiding your IP address also enables you to protect your computer from spyware. Spyware is the software that monitors the activities of the user of a computer. Some webmasters and software producers offer free downloads for your computer. Most of the free downloads are embedded with spyware. After you complete the download, the spyware gets installed in your computer and your activities can be monitored.
Hiding your IP address also gives you freedom from the constantly bombarding pop up ads in your computer. Whenever you enter a website, you will be flooded by the pop up ads. Constant flooding of the pop up ads in the computer can be very irritating and disturbing for the user. The efficiency of the computer also gets diminished due to this. Your computer can stop functioning when you have an urgent piece of work to do. Hiding your IP address will protect you from such situation.
The main advantage of hiding your IP address is that you are protected from any website that wants to monitor your online habits and activities. Hiding the IP address also makes sure that you do not receive any junk or bulk emails in your inbox. Good software for hiding your IP address will keep your computer safe from the hackers. If the software has the ability to support frequent IP address change, the chances of protecting your privacy increases.
You can also use the web-based email to send anonymous email to people. This can sometimes be necessary for your work. Your IP address is meant for your personal use and nobody has the right to misuse this without your permission.
DNS errors generally occur when the IP address for a typed domain name cannot be found. This may happen when the server speed is too slow, so the time taken to find the IP address lapses. This is a general problem faced by those who access the Internet with a modem.
This is because dial-up speed varies in accordance with traffic, sometimes even disconnecting one from the Internet. This is not to say that it does not occur in the case of broadband connectivity. It can happen also in case of a broadband server problem.
You may also come across DNS errors if the website you are searching for is disconnected, since it is going through some construction process or upgrading process. At that point, the website owner requests the hosts to switch them off from the server in order to curtail traffic until the site is uploaded again.
DNS errors also occur when you misspell the domain name. In such a situation, even if a single letter is missing or added, it will not connect to the IP address and you will not gain access to the website. This is also the case for sending out emails. Any error in an email address makes the email bounce back to the sender.
DNS errors mainly occur due to typing faults. Thus, it is essential to be extremely careful when typing in domain names; otherwise you could be wasting a lot of time trying to access the site. Ideally, you should not keep complicated domain names, or visitors to your site may get confused and never reach you.
DNS Services provides detailed information on DNS, DNS Services, DNS Hosting, DNS Server and more. DNS Services is affiliated with Transfer Domain Registration
Please attempt the following then, if that does not work, visit the change IP address forum. Before trying any other methods to change your IP address, try turning off (or unplugging the power of) your Cable/DSL modem for five minutes. In many cases this will change your IP address. However, if that does not change your IP address, repeat the process for 8 hours (overnight works well) instead of 5 minutes. Hopefully this will result in an IP change.
If the above does not result in your IP address changing, please look through the below for the situation that best matches yours and attempt to change your IP address that way. Unfortunately you are not able to get your IP address to change in all cases, as it is ultimate determined by your ISP's DHCP configuration (when you've got a dynamically assigned IP address, that is.)
Windows - Computer connected directly to the modem
> Get to a command prompt. (START, run, cmd). > Type "ipconfig /release" (without the quotes, on the command line by itself). > Type "ipconfig /renew" (without the quotes, on the command line by itself).
Windows (second option) - Computer connected directly to the modem
> Get to a command prompt. (START, run, cmd). > Type "ipconfig /release" (without the quotes). > Shut down computer. > Turn off computer. > Turn off all ethernet hubs/switches. > Turn off cable/DSL modem. > Leave off overnight. > Turn everything back on.
Network with Router
> Log into the router's admin console. (Often http://192.168.1.1/) > Release the IP address. (Method varies by router manufacturer) > Turn off router, ethernut hubs/switches, and the cable/DSL modem. > Leave off overnight. > Turn everything back on.
If you are using a cable/DSL modem and a router, you may wish to connect your computer directly to the cable/DSL modem. Please note that this could significantly impact your system security. This allows your ISP's DHCP to issue you a new (hopefully changed) IP address based of the (hardware) MAC address of your computer's ethernet card.
If all the above has not worked to change your IP address and you have a router, check and see if there is a "Clone MAC Address" option. Using it should change your IP address, however, you'll only be able to do it once (in most cases).
These will not work in all cases. If all else fails contact your internet service provider (ISP) and ask them if they are able to change your IP address or how long your connection needs to be off for your IP address to change.
If you trying to change your IP address because you are just trying to access web based forums you may wish to attempt to configure your internet browser to use a proxy server.
If this does not answer your question, visit the change IP address forum. It's new but you will get an answer.
We've heard about IP Changer programs, but have not seen any that work in a reliable manner. If you have seen an IP address changer program that works, please let us know.
An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique number that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP). Any participating network device — including routers, computers, time-servers, printers, internet fax machines, and some telephones — must have its own unique address.
An IP address can also be thought of as a street address or a phone number but for a computer or other network device on the internet. Just as each street address and phone number uniquely identifies a building or telephone, an IP address can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on a network.
A network lookup service, the Domain Name System, provides the ability to map domain names to a specific IP address. The purpose of domains is that humans better remember names than arbitrary strings of numbers. It also allows an entity to change its IP addresses or reassign them without having to notify anyone except their DNS server.
Another reason for DNS is to allow, for example, a web site to be hosted on multiple servers (each with its own IP address) which allows for rudimentary load balancing.
