# Is it possible to trace....



## Traveler (Mar 19, 2018)

I just read on another thread about a guy who was threatened (several years ago). The guy who did the threatening said he was going to trace his IP address and hunt him down. Is that possible ? Can one dangerous fool find out another persons home address via the IP address ?  Damn, if that's actually possible, it is very scary.


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## SifuPhil (Mar 19, 2018)

Even the police departments have a hard time getting a trace through an IP address. I believe they need a court order at the very least.

So unless someone is a super-hacker, I doubt an IP alone would do it. But there are usually plenty of traces we leave all over the 'Net that contain our vital info.


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## Don M. (Mar 19, 2018)

Traveler said:


> I just read on another thread about a guy who was threatened (several years ago). The guy who did the threatening said he was going to trace his IP address and hunt him down. Is that possible ? Can one dangerous fool find out another persons home address via the IP address ?  Damn, if that's actually possible, it is very scary.



It can be done.  Search on "how to trace an IP address", and you will find all sorts of Hacking tips on the Internet.....here is just one of many.....

https://www.gohacking.com/trace-any-ip-address/

A dedicated hacker can find out almost anything about an individual.


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## SifuPhil (Mar 19, 2018)

Don M. said:


> It can be done.  Search on "how to trace an IP address", and you will find all sorts of Hacking tips on the Internet.....here is just one of many.....
> 
> https://www.gohacking.com/trace-any-ip-address/
> 
> A dedicated hacker can find out almost anything about an individual.



But that particular example only gives the city (and the wrong zip code at that). No exact address.


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## applecruncher (Mar 19, 2018)

One doesn't have to be a hacker to find someone.

Many times if you look up your own or someone else's ip address, it will show correct city, zip code, and latitude/longitude location, which is close to the exact address.

A lot of people do dumb things like post pics of their house, neighborhood, etc. and volunteer information which makes them easier to find.

If a threat such as the one referenced is received, it should be reported to the police.


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## RadishRose (Mar 19, 2018)

Well, that's good news.


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## Traveler (Mar 19, 2018)

My god, I hope Sifuphil is correct.  The whole thing is really spooky.


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## Don M. (Mar 19, 2018)

SifuPhil said:


> But that particular example only gives the city (and the wrong zip code at that). No exact address.



I just jumped on that one site as an example of what you can find with such a search....there are many others that show ways to glean even more information.  Once a person has some basic info about an individual, they can then go to one of the many "people search" sites, and get a pretty complete history on the person....including things like their current address....for a small fee.  

"Privacy" on the Internet...especially for those who use Social Media, is becoming almost non-existent.  

Also, you can bet that for any examples that are posted on the Internet, there are several that are floating around that may not be known for quite some time.  The Hackers and Criminals are always one step ahead of the law.


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## applecruncher (Mar 19, 2018)

I've seen/heard stories where someone showed up unannounced at another person's residence or place of employment.  This usually happens if there's an online romance or flirtation gone bad or an ongoing dispute about something.​


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## SifuPhil (Mar 19, 2018)

Don M. said:


> I just jumped on that one site as an example of what you can find with such a search....there are many others that show ways to glean even more information.  Once a person has some basic info about an individual, they can then go to one of the many "people search" sites, and get a pretty complete history on the person....including things like their current address....for a small fee.
> 
> "Privacy" on the Internet...especially for those who use Social Media, is becoming almost non-existent.
> 
> Also, you can bet that for any examples that are posted on the Internet, there are several that are floating around that may not be known for quite some time.  The Hackers and Criminals are always one step ahead of the law.



Very true. 

I just think the odds of having a stalker / threatening person that is also capable of a good hack are fairly low. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but I'd venture a guess as to about 80-90% wouldn't know how to find you. They're mainly hot-air keyboard commandos. 

But that other 10-20% ...


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## applecruncher (Mar 19, 2018)

_Maybe_ if someone is _that_ worried about being found they should behave.
There's a saying "Don't start none, won't be none" :wink:


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## SifuPhil (Mar 19, 2018)

applecruncher said:


> _Maybe_ if someone is _that_ worried about being found they should behave.
> There's a saying "Don't start none, won't be none" :wink:





Thing is, you can be a perfect angel and still catch ^&$% from people. 

I should know - I'm a perfect angel. :angel:


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## RadishRose (Mar 19, 2018)

Anyone can access Public Records or whatever fee the Municipality charges. So, these sites that charge you a fee for these records are able to do this. Freedom of Information Act.

https://www.foia.gov/

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Freedom+of+Information&t=ffab&atb=v90-7&ia=web


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## RadishRose (Mar 19, 2018)

I wonder if personal info/addresses from an ISP address is available on the Dark Web?


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## SifuPhil (Mar 19, 2018)

RadishRose said:


> I wonder if personal info/addresses from an ISP address is available on the Dark Web?



Pretty much anything is available there. For a price.


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## RadishRose (Mar 19, 2018)

I've never been there.


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## Camper6 (Mar 19, 2018)

It's easy to trace the city you are from using the ISP.

That's how you get those ads beamed to you.

And if you get banned from a site, they use the ISP to do it so that you can't sign in again with that ISP.


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## C'est Moi (Mar 19, 2018)

I think there is a little confusion here.  ISP = Internet Service Provider, which is likely your cable company or other internet provider.   IP = Internet Protocol which is your "address" on the internet, typically assigned/provided by your ISP. 

You can cloak or hide your IP address by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) service, a proxy server, or public WIFI.


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## Mike (Mar 20, 2018)

Last year, FireFox Mozilla brought out an Add-On
that allowed you to have a "Spoof" IP address, I
tried it and it gave me one in Holland, which was
OK till one of my places that I use to do surveys
stopped contacting me because they thought that
I had been hacked and that somebody in Holland
was using my account, so I dropped it.

I don't know if Mozilla still do that but it would be
useful to somebody who is looking for some total
anonymity.

Mike.


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## terry123 (Mar 20, 2018)

If you just wanted to find a person's address you can use anywho.com.  I have used it before to find an old friend. I knew she had moved and the city but not the address. I used the anywho.com for free and got her new street address and phone number. I called her and we have been able to email back and forth now for several years.  We live in different states so we have been able to visit each other only a few times.  For a fee you can get more info on a person but I don't have the need to do that about anyone. I have used the reverse phone lookup feature a few times to see who was calling me and hanging up.


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## Camper6 (Mar 20, 2018)

Mike said:


> Last year, FireFox Mozilla brought out an Add-On
> that allowed you to have a "Spoof" IP address, I
> tried it and it gave me one in Holland, which was
> OK till one of my places that I use to do surveys
> ...



It's easy to use a proxy site and pick a server in the country you live in.


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## SifuPhil (Mar 20, 2018)

terry123 said:


> If you just wanted to find a person's address you can use anywho.com.  I have used it before to find an old friend. I knew she had moved and the city but not the address. I used the anywho.com for free and got her new street address and phone number. I called her and we have been able to email back and forth now for several years.  We live in different states so we have been able to visit each other only a few times.  For a fee you can get more info on a person but I don't have the need to do that about anyone. I have used the reverse phone lookup feature a few times to see who was calling me and hanging up.



I just gave it a shot, using myself as the guinea pig.

It returned an address I haven't been at in over 17 years.


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## 911 (Mar 22, 2018)

The police need a warrant to get an IP address, however, there are other ways to get the IP address and the corresponding mailing address with it. If I worked for Facebook or any other public domain, in most cases, IP addresses are recorded by those companies. I would imagine even Senior Forums has a list IP addresses for those registered with SF. 

Hackers can get IP addresses fairly easy and do it all the time. Predators are really good at it. If I send you an e-mail and you answer it, BINGO! I can get your IP address, depending on which ISP you have, but I'm not going to tell you how.


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## applecruncher (Mar 22, 2018)

911 - you'll appreciate this story:

Back in late 2001 there was a woman here who was sent to prison for 18 months for sending threatening emails to President Bush.  How did they catch her?  Wasn't hard.

She was taking classes at a community college, and she happened to be Muslim.  Apparently she felt pressure an discrimination because of the WTC attacks. So she goes to the college library, signs in to use a computer, and sends threats to the President of the United States.  Uh....aside from an IP address, she forgot that the library had a record of who was using which computer, etc.  Maybe they also had surveillance cameras, I don't know. Anyway, she was arrested relatively quickly, and the bottom line is she had to serve time in a Federal prison.

....................shaking my head................


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## 911 (Mar 25, 2018)

So, she has been released? Was she subsequently deported? (Just curious.)


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## applecruncher (Mar 25, 2018)

911 said:


> So, she has been released? Was she subsequently deported? (Just curious.)



This was back in 2003 when she was released....but no, I think she was put on probation after her release but not deported.

Lots of people don't realize it but sending threat to the President (even as a "joke/prank" ) will get you a swift prison sentence. Feds don't have that type of sense of humor.


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## Keesha (Apr 4, 2018)

My IP address doesn’t match up with where I live but I have to admit that the thought of someone coming after me is quite scary. I can be quite the chatterbox at times.


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