•
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?
Article C2482 - December 7, 2005
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
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
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (MingW32)
iD8DBQFGl+mACMEe9B/8oqERAlThAJ9mo2/eya7TsKpJ7GLRhJOEkbnivACeJwm/
Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at July 13, 2007 2:07 PMVnGQZbLMG43hJBqWbhERvZg=
=AIPo
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
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-----
Hash: SHA1
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
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32)
iD8DBQFGy00dCMEe9B/8oqERAgqZAJ9eXh353KZwwyItAOeuEP1nIXFD5gCfcxT5
Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at August 21, 2007 1:39 PMikVObbk4J/y97P3N1jWA/Nc=
=Ubhp
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
What does law enforcement typically need in order to get a court order to provide the ISP provider? I have a handful of gmail accounts (blocked of course through Google without a court order) that were intentionally created to slander and defame me and my wife... I know it is a specific person, I know, through our ISp provider that it occured in the "general vicinity" of the offender, but I have not the proof to show it is this person - otherwise he would sign his name, right? I want to provide law enforcement with enough information to "suspect" or "assume" or more of a "coincidence" to get that court order to seize this person's computer to verify the gmail accounts in this person' name... any thoughts or suggestions? I do not wish to spend thousands of dollars to retain an attorney to figure this out - I should be able to fight this myself no?
03-Oct-2009
i have received threatening mails from a hotmail account where the sender's IP shows location as UK.I am positive it is sent from within India.Can the law enforcement agencies find the real sender.Is it possible for anyone to doctor the IP number and send a mail?
Posted by: Rajesh at January 6, 2010 1:46 AM