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Listen to the podcast: Getting all worked
up over IP tracing . 
Transcript
A frequent question I get on Ask Leo! relates to IP addresses, and how much you can find out from one.
It get this from both sides. On one hand, I hear from people who are concerned that someone can track them down physically - perhaps find out their home address - based on their IP address. On the other hand, I also hear from people who want to find out who's at some IP address, because they're being contacted in some form, and that's the only bit of potentially identifying information they have to grab on to.
Publicly available information about an IP address can typically only be traced as far as the ISP that owns it. If the IP happens to correspond to a registered domain name, then perhaps the domain registration might provide a little more information - or not.
It's the ISP that assigns the IP address to an individual device on the internet. And a good ISP will not reveal to whom they've allocated the address to just anyone. In fact, my assumption is that legal action and possibly law enforcement of some sort would be required for an ISP to release that information.
In many cases, the information is even more obscure. Instant Messaging conversations typically do not include the IP address of the participants. If, for example, you're attempting to track down who is IM'ing you, you'll probably need the help of the IM provider such as AOL, MSN, or one of the others. Same for most web-based email providers and messages - not all contain the IP address of the actual originator, so you'll need the provider's help to track it down. Again, that's not help I'd expect to get without legal action.
In reality, I consider that great news. While it's important that that information be made available when it's appropriate, meaning legal action, I think we all want our privacy too. The ISPs and service providers are important gatekeepers of that privacy.
So don't go expecting to find a lot of information based on an IP address unless you've got a valid and defensible reason. And conversely, while technically it is possible to track down an IP address to a specific machine and location, it's not easy, and it's not something that the general public can do.
Related:
Ask Leo! - What can people tell from my IP address?
Ask Leo! - Can I get someone's name and address from their IP address?
Ask Leo! - How do I figure out who owns an IP address?
Ask Leo! - When I visit a web site, can the server identify me?
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Article C2482 - December 7, 2005
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You'd use an anonymization service.
http://ask-leo.com/is_anonymous_web_surfing_possible_if_so_cant_the_bad_guys_use_it_too.html
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at March 20, 2007 12:57 PMJ/uxtEeaPi0WrqraDGpwrhQ=
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It's fun or usefull when you track IP addresses, because you can make an idea about the person, country, maybe state, or if it is from an organization or big company. http://www.ipgp.net gives accurate information and map.
Posted by: Lucian at March 21, 2007 11:27 AMhow anyone can know the ip address of the other person he is chatting with over the yahoo messenger or on mail id? pls tell me this is highly required information.
Posted by: bindaasjhokra at April 8, 2007 9:27 AMRecently my company emails were hacked into and a false and nasty message was sent to most of our clients. I have the IP from the email and want to trace it . I'm virtually certain we know who the offender is . How do i it ?
Posted by: joe murray at June 27, 2007 8:48 AMhow long does the IP provider keep information?
Posted by: curiousminds at July 1, 2007 10:20 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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No way to know. It depends on the ISP.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at July 1, 2007 10:04 PMBXFXjGo7iIpwaq8fFXbjxVA=
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WHile it is possible to find an approximate location from an IP address in an email header, email originating from AOL accounts only seems to trace back as far as the AOL server.
Is there a way to find an approximate location of the specific computer used to send the mail?
Posted by: Curious at July 13, 2007 10:14 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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As stated in this and several articles on this site:
- - if you're an average user: no
- - if you're the ISP that owns the IP address: probably
So normal people typically need to get law enforcement involved and court
orders to trace an IP to a computer.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at July 13, 2007 2:07 PMVnGQZbLMG43hJBqWbhERvZg=
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how could i know the ip address of the person ,whom i am chating in yahoo messanger pliz tell me i need this information
Posted by: mohit at July 20, 2007 9:33 AM-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
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I'm closing comments on this article.
Please read
http://ask-leo.com/how_do_i_find_out_whos_at_a_particular_ip_address.html for
information on tracing IP addresses, and what it takes to do so.
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at August 21, 2007 1:39 PMikVObbk4J/y97P3N1jWA/Nc=
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