IP tracing

Hi all, can anyone tell me exactly what an IP is and can other ordinary SL users find out or trace your IP.

An IP is an Internet Protocol address of a computer. It is in the form of a 4 part number; e.g 205.96.134.192

No, a person's IP address can't be found by an SL user in SL.

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique address that certain electronic devices currently use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP)—in simpler terms, a computer address.

NO.

An IP address is the unique number assigned to your computer when you connect to the net. It can be static or dynamic (changes with a certain range of addresses). No-one can trace your IP address purely through using SL. When I say no-one, I mean residents. The Lindens, on the other hand, of course could.

Maybe someone else could explain it a bit bitter.

Thanks everyone for your answers. So if you have more then one avatar they will have the same IP address.

All avatars created on your computer will share the same IP.

If you have parcel media enabled, a landowner could get your IP address by setting a URL that plays specifically for you and starting the movie. But indeed, hiding your IP address isn't something to bother about.

I don't want to fuel your paranoia, but it is wise to always assume someone else can and will listen in on anything you say over the internet. This includes email. Nothing electronic is completely safe. The best you can do is make it not worth the effort to hack.

As far as i know, your IP address is not sent in any form to other residents. For someone else to get it, they would have to hack the SL servers. Actually, posting here is more vulnerible than anything in game. Still, of the million or so residents, maybe 5 would have the knowledge to be able to hack the servers. Whether any of them would be willing to risk felony charges for doing so really depends on the motivation.

LL employees can always get your IP address. However, they have access to more information than just your IP number.

yes an Sl user can get your IP, both through parcel media, or even something as simple as a pic on these forums.

but them knowing it doesn't really mean much since it's the way anything from the internet get to your computer... use a firewall virus check stuff you d/l, don't go to suspicious places or porrn site, scan email attachments, etc..

Here's an interesting site you might want to have a look at:

http://www.ip-adress.com/

It cleverly shows your IP address localized on Google Maps.

So it states on the url above, that with one letter to your internet company anyone can find you.
As your internet company does show in the IP search, along with a general vicinity of where you live.

Is that true, that the internet company might give out your personal information to anyone?

Oh, good, I am in Belgium, not Virginia. Nice to know...

That is, it shows the IP address of whatever host you are accessing Google through.

Apparently, it isn't always completely correct - maybe based upon all of the routing it could go through. I am in Colorado right now and it just showed my IP mapped to California - which is the primary office for the company that I'm currently at.

Just to clarify this, IP addresses can change - it's (usually) not some value that is forever associated with your PC. If you leave your computer gear on 24/7, it's unlikely to change but if you turn it off, say, overnight, especially if you turn your router off too, you will likely have a different address when you power back up.

If you visit a website and they have a specific stat-counter they automatically get your IP and it also gives them the city and state you are located in. What page you came in on, pages you visited, left from and how long you were there and how you found them (google etc). If your IP is located in a different town than you are sometimes it will give them that one and not yours.

Your company Firewall is in California. That is the point at which you access the internet. The IP address of your computer right now is not what the internet knows you by. Basically it is because you are on another network. The internet is one big network and each IP address is another contant point. That contact may be a single machine or, more likely, another local network.

It would be most unusual for an ISP to divulge the identity of an IP user without a court order to do so being slapped on them first.

2 pieces of inet advice I got when I first started using computers,

1. Anything you type can be read as easily as reading the back of a postcard.
2. If you are paranoid about the inet, just throw your comp out the window.

A friend told me how an alt, who was camping at a mall, was ejected by the owner. When queried, the owner said that my friend had multiple avatars (just 2) and that he knew it because he had scanned IP addresses and presumably found 2 alts with the same IP. I don't think the alt had turned on music or a movie or anything thing that would require a separate connection to the net. Is there any further knowledge or information on this phenomenon ... on being able to discover an avatar's IP address?

As far as I know the police CAN find your IP address and also use it to track you to your exact location. You appear as a flashing red dot on their giant map of the city. In order to get your IP though they have to 'stall' you by talking to you about random stuff. So if you just walk or run away from them they can't get your IP.

also the moment you connect to the internet you should have a descent and regular updated anti virus installed, and use a firewall , even if someone would like to hack you, he would then have to have above the average skills to succeed.

The answer, if the person is determined, is YES.

One way of getting your IP address would be to place a web URL to a website with some code to track IP hits (easy to do, IP tracking is easy on the web), and set a land's media URL to that website. An avatar enters, if they view media, their IP address is given over automatically. This could also be done with the Music URL.

But... so what? Unless you run your own ISP, your IP address is useless for anything to break your identity, the most they would get is vague geographic location (e.g., what country you are from).

Unless you have remote desktop running and thats a hole nother ball of wax.

Not true.