Question about IP addresses.

[phraensys]

i know this comment may be a bit late, but let me just share my opinion.

ip address is used just to name/label a computer so that millions of computers can know to whom to communicate. and as what has been said, even if someone knows your name, it doesnt automatically mean that he/she knows what you're doing.

for him/her to know if you're online, he/she has to send a request (ping) to which your computer will respond. thus he/she will know if you're online or not. but even then, there is also this feature that will block such ping request, which means your computer wont respond; thus make you appear as though you're offline.

yes, when you chat with somebody else, both of you have to be logged in (to aim, ym, etc), right? therefore, for your conversation to get to the other party, your messages passes through the server where you logged in, thus it means you're not directly connected to each other.

the problem you were worrying, "if he/she knows your ip address, can he/she hack your computer?" as what has been said, knowing an ip is next to nothing. the hacker has to log in to your computer in order to hack it. i think this is done using the telnet application. he/she also has to get through a firewall if you have one.

can somebody expound more on the paragraph on top of this please?
i also want to be clarified on this concept of hacking...
what needs to be known in order to hack
this is not for bad intention
but for me to be enlightened what really happens during hacking

[clairx]

DSl does not equal a static IP address. In fact it would be odd for a DSL provider to hand out fixed address as they are usually an extra charge feature. However, the DHCP server that renews your address may be giving you the same address over and over again as it renews the lease giving you the impression that you have a fixed address. This would also apply to cable modem users. A lot of ISP's though rotate addresses frequently to keep you from putting up a server on their network.

[goldfish]

Hi all....ok, i need some serious advise or rather - help!!!
Theres a seriously sticky situation going on in my family and its going to be war.....im cacking myself and i need some serious advice from anyone who is 100% about what theyre saying! PLEASE!!!

Since ive have married my bro-in-laws sister, he has created nothing but trouble. He has lied and spread such bad stuff abiut me over the years and anyway there was a big bust up with me and his family when i tried to clear my name and say he had been lying about me. Its very tense with his family but when i told my family what had ben going on they went mad and felt sad for me and no longer want to see my in-laws. Its an awful situation and its getting worse and i KNOW my wife doubts whether or not im telling the truth cause his lies come thick and fast and he is very devious.

Anyway, thats the background on why i did what i did. Last week, i had a lightbulb moment...i thought i would try opening my bro-in-laws yahoo email account. I simply guessed the password first time...the idiot used his first name for his assword, thats what an idiot he is! So, my heart was pounding...im not pround of what i did but i dont feel i had any choice. He had around 7000 inbox and sent messages and i began working through them. The things he had been saying about me were heartbreaking and i seriousl cried for hours. I didnt tell my wife anything. What i did was send all the evidence in the emails to an my alternative email address, then i deleted the sent box and trash box so he had no come back and no record that i had sent myself these emails as evidence. Ok, so now i have hard evidence on stuff he has ben saying about me and his own family! Im going to anonymously send the emails to myself and all his family memebers and friends, so they can see him or wht he is!!!!

Now, can i be caught or can it ever be traced back to me?? Ive left no evidence but shold he be clever enough could he ask yahoo to trace it or check IP addresses or log on times and from which pc etc??? Its going to cause a lot of upset when i send the emails to them in the post, so i just cannot be found out...my wife would divorce me and i all i want is a bit of justice...is that so bad? Am i doing the wrong thing going ahead with this?? Help!

What im asking, seriously, is there any way that it can be traced to me? If there is then i wont send them and forget it all. Please help, im seriously down and worn out with the constant battle.

Would deleting my alternative email address i sent them to help?

Thank you!

[patndoris]

Hello and welcome to BBB! I'm very sorry that you are going through so much difficulty. And obviously, you now have some very real concerns regarding your choice of actions.

Bottom line, it is illegal to access someone else's accounts without their knowledge and permission. Virtually anything you do on the internet can be traced. It may take lawyers and subpoenas to do it, but it can be done. From a legal perspective even erasing ill gotten files/programs becomes tampering with evidence (as recent file sharing cases demonstrate) should matters reach the courts. Not to mention, illegally obtained evidence would be inadmissable to substantiate any claims you might have regarding defamation or slander.

I certainly understand the desire to find out/prove you are right - but as you've now discovered, having such knowledge opens up a whole different can of worms. Giving advice on how to extricate from such a situation can be construed as aiding someone's illegal actions. For that reason - I will simply wish you the best in any choice you make on this matter.

[goldfish]

Thanks for this and i totally understand its wrong. However, he rarely even uses this account anymore and hasnt even noticed the empty sent and deleted box! Its full of spam and so unorganised that he probably wouldnt even notice for months. So if i did send the info to the people in question, he might be curious enough to look at that point only.

It would never, ever go to anything legal...trust me on that one, but he would probably just check with yahoo themselves if anything. It goes on all the time with hackers, phishing, key logging and alsorts so i wanted to know what is the likihood i could be traced, baring in mind these days this is rife and in comparison nothing has been tampered with, no identity stolen, passwords changed or anything like that...im fairly tame in that respect...??