Netmeeting and IP question...

[KINGOFOOTBALL33]

If any of you have ever used microsoft netmeeting you know the way you dial someone is by using a given ip #...
1. is this a random ip setup by microsoft servers or my actual ip addy?
2.Is there a way someone can find out a general idea of what region or state i live in with that IP addy?

[EzyStvy]

1. actual ip addy (must be static)
2. don't think so

[Statica]

Originally posted by KINGOFOOTBALL33

2.Is there a way someone can find out a general idea of what region or state i live in with that IP addy?


Absolutely yes. There are tons of logical and definitive clues to narrowing down an IP address. For example if a person had an IP address that resolved to: *.qens-elm.ny.cable.rcn.com It gives a general clue doesnt it? THere are tons of tools to finding out which ISP a particular IP belongs to that gives clues of the region. It gets trickier with some "national" ISP's but its still possible.

[KINGOFOOTBALL33]

lol...statica answered that question in the slickest way possible...nice one

[KINGOFOOTBALL33]

Now is that possible becuase you had moderater access or is it just that easy if you have the tools and knowledge?

[Statica]

The tools are always there, its being able to use the tools properly. Let me map out a hypothetical situation:
You get an IP address from someone on netmeeting (am assuming u arent using the Microsoft directory but a direct connection); all you need to do is plug in the IP address to certain tools.. perhaps the simplest one I can offer is here:
http://visualroute.visualware.com/ enter the IP and do a start trace. There are is a variety of information that can be gathered.

Does using the directory help for DCC programs (direct client connections) such as netmeeting? Nope; getting information of your "friends" IP address is a cinch using tools that are, right in windows itself - like netstat etc.

For clients such as MSN Messenger for example, there is an intermediary server so information you type goes: You<-->Server<-->Them ; which is all well and good - a person trying to check the IP will only get the address of the server... but once u start using direct connection features like a file transfer or a voice chat using MSN Messenger the server goes away from the picture.

Mind you the tool I gave the URL to as a demo is very simplistic there are much more sophisticated ones. that do some marvellous stuff.

[doctorgonzo]

Using an IP address to find a person's location is a very trivial matter. Using a program like Ping Plotter lists every hop between you and the target IP, so not only can you find out where a person is generally located, but what is between you and them.

That is why spammers use tricks to hide IP addresses in their mail headers. Looking at the IP addresses in an e-mail header will go a long way in telling you where an e-mail came from.