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How far can people really get with an IP address?

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A frequent question I get on Ask Leo! relates to IP addresses, and how much you can find out from one.

"Publicly available information about an IP address can typically only be traced as far as the ISP that owns it."

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.

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Article C2482 - December 7, 2005 « »

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Leo Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed. After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.

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Recent Comments
70 Comments
Accord
September 1, 2010 4:24 PM

My uncle's email was hacked all his business transactions are in that and people's e mails.I somehow found out the ip adress for the email, but can't find the location where the e
mail is being used from, coz the person who hacked it sent me an e mail in responce to my e mail thati thought I m sending to my uncle, I used the location finders and ran the ip adress 98.139.54.60 but it tells me my uncles location , how correct the location can be with the ip adress, I m very worried I need to know where the e mail is being used fro
bthen I will figur out who is using it, please help

pinkpisces
March 16, 2011 6:22 AM

Can you see if someone is tracking your Ip?

No. (Besides, "tracking your IP" doesn't have any meaning - but whatever you're thinking it means, no.)
Leo
16-Mar-2011

Ananya
October 19, 2011 2:14 AM

Yo can find the informations related to the ipaddress by using a an efficient tool. Check it out here: http://www.whoisthisip.com/

Wow. That tool got my IP address located wrong by at least two states and over 600 miles.
Leo
19-Oct-2011
Rosey
February 12, 2012 2:13 PM

You have stated that a "gmail" wouldn't be able to be traced back to me, without "legal" action? What are my rights to privacy, if the post on twitter or emails were not illegal?

I'm afraid that's a legal question I can't answer. I'm sure that it really depend on the specifics of the situation you're looking at.
Leo
12-Feb-2012
SAM
January 25, 2013 4:36 AM

i trace ip adress i find user name now i want to send message to user by cmd in window 7 ultimate pls tell me.

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