This is topic Internet Addresses...is this the same person? in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
 
Is it possible to determine if two people that are email/IM'ing/posting are from the same computer?

Is there anyway I can do things like this?

Can't they do it at Hatrack?

Can someone pull my wisdom tooth and put me out of my misery?

No, don't answer that last one.
 
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
 
PSI, I'll pull that tooth for you. Of course, I'm not a dentist. Sorry I can't answer the other questions for you. Now where'd I put those pliers? [Wink]
 
Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
 
By the way, PSI, thanks for posting in my landmark thread. Now, about that tooth.
 
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
 
I don't know if we can, but the "IP: Logged" is certainly visible to the admins, and the IP is the numerical ID of the machine from which a post was made.

-Bok
 
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
 
The can tell if the same computer was used, probably. You can also check the header of the e-mail and see the IP of the sending person. Does not mean that the same person sent both, just that the same computer sent both.

Also, if you have dial up, only part of the IP will be the same, as a new IP is assigned each time you logon.

msquared
 
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
 
Further, msquared, unless the posts are from almost the same time, the IP _might_ not be the same physical machine, as many/most ISPs use dynamically assigned IPs.

-Bok

EDIT: Doh, I have to read better.

[ March 03, 2004, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: Bokonon ]
 
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
 
But is it possible to look at two IP's and get a good idea that they're probably from the same machine that used dial-up, or is there no way to tell?
 
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
 
Depends on how big the company supplying the dial up is. The companies have been assigned IP ranges and depending on how big the company is, it might just be the last 6 digits that are different or the last 9 or even more.

DSL/Cable etc usually do not have dynamic IP so those stay fixed. If you are worried about people tracking you down from your IP, don't use Cable/DSL.

msquared
 
Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :
 
No I'm not....this sprung in my mind from the Hoaxes, trolls and something or other thread.
 
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
 
Depending on how the network is set up, identical IP addresses just might mean that both computers are on the same network. For instance, many school or work networks do not give each computer an external IP address, so any computer coming from that network looks like it's the same computer.

For example, my wife and I both post to hatrack from separate computers, but it shows up as the same IP address to people outside our network.
 
Posted by BannaOj (Member # 3206) on :
 
and I thought I was paranoid! [Wink]
 
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
 
Actually, plenty of Cable/DSL providers DO use dynamic IPs. I know ATT Broadband (now Comcast) and Verizon up here both do it.

-Bok
 
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
 
Cable IPs are usually long lived enough that even if they're dynamic they stay the same.

DSL IPs tend to change all the time if they're not static.
 


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