IP security?

herdad · 02-25-2009, 10:31 AM

My daughter (16) belongs to several role play sites...She began having a problem with a staff member (believed to be male)on one of these sites. She no longer visits this site, but I was appalled to learn that our IP address can inform anyone who knows how to find our city! I fear that he could find our home. How do we protect ourselves with vital info connected to our IP? Is it possible/legal to hide our IP? I am not computer savvy, and only just a bit ago learned what an IP was..please answer in simple terms. I appreciate your assistance. thank you.

asgley · 02-27-2009, 05:19 AM

Finding out where you live based on IP is very hard, there have been legal skirmishes on this matter for a long time between groups like the RIAA and ISP’s.
yes it is very easy to find out the town or city that most IP’s are from but breaking that down to a street or house is not something I would worry yourself about.
If you are concerned about this possibility then I would recommend using a SSL Proxy server, this allows you to browse the web under the proxy’s IP not your own.

I would say the biggest information security risk here is the possibility that your daughter has given out information of her whereabouts knowingly or not, even discussing the local chip shop "(Mr Chippy) which is 5 doors down from where you live", means along with the town you are from it could be quite easy to cut down the number of possible roads from thousands to perhaps 4-5.
You need to decide how much of a risk this person poses to your family and if you decide he is a high risk you should discuss with your daughter exactly what information she could have given knowing or otherwise, if there is a potential for this person to find out where you live and is high risk i would seek legal advise to prevent this person posing a threat.

Hope this helps,

Asg

**johnwill** · 02-27-2009, 10:59 AM

I agree with asgley here, the cat is out of the bag regarding the IP address, you need to take whatever personal security measures you deem appropriate.

**bilbus** · 03-02-2009, 06:27 AM

You can not locate your house via a ip address.

All they can see is some general location information. Go here and type in your public ip address (not 192.168.x.x) http://www.ip2location.com/Default.aspx

I am sure that any information he found out was told to you by your daughter.

02-25-2009, 10:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
herdad Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 1 OS: windows xp	IP security? My daughter (16) belongs to several role play sites...She began having a problem with a staff member (believed to be male)on one of these sites. She no longer visits this site, but I was appalled to learn that our IP address can inform anyone who knows how to find our city! I fear that he could find our home. How do we protect ourselves with vital info connected to our IP? Is it possible/legal to hide our IP? I am not computer savvy, and only just a bit ago learned what an IP was..please answer in simple terms. I appreciate your assistance. thank you.

02-27-2009, 05:19 AM	#2 (permalink)
asgley Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 105 OS: xp32, vista64, gentoo, rhle4, rhel 5 64, centos 64, debian, solaris, 2k3, 2k8	Re: IP security? Finding out where you live based on IP is very hard, there have been legal skirmishes on this matter for a long time between groups like the RIAA and ISP’s. yes it is very easy to find out the town or city that most IP’s are from but breaking that down to a street or house is not something I would worry yourself about. If you are concerned about this possibility then I would recommend using a SSL Proxy server, this allows you to browse the web under the proxy’s IP not your own. I would say the biggest information security risk here is the possibility that your daughter has given out information of her whereabouts knowingly or not, even discussing the local chip shop "(Mr Chippy) which is 5 doors down from where you live", means along with the town you are from it could be quite easy to cut down the number of possible roads from thousands to perhaps 4-5. You need to decide how much of a risk this person poses to your family and if you decide he is a high risk you should discuss with your daughter exactly what information she could have given knowing or otherwise, if there is a potential for this person to find out where you live and is high risk i would seek legal advise to prevent this person posing a threat. Hope this helps, Asg Last edited by koala; 02-27-2009 at 05:50 AM. Reason: removed pm request. please keep all replies in the thread.

02-27-2009, 10:59 AM	#3 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,720 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: IP security? I agree with asgley here, the cat is out of the bag regarding the IP address, you need to take whatever personal security measures you deem appropriate. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

03-02-2009, 06:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
bilbus TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 949 OS: OS2 Warp	Re: IP security? You can not locate your house via a ip address. All they can see is some general location information. Go here and type in your public ip address (not 192.168.x.x) http://www.ip2location.com/Default.aspx I am sure that any information he found out was told to you by your daughter.