I like webcomics. I like showing my support for the creator, especialy if they're asking something easy like a couple mouse clicks. So when a couple of comics I read asked me to vote for them over at Top Webcomics I didn't think much of it.
I did for a few day before I got poking around on the site itself. There I discovered the View Traffic button. I'm not a registered member of the site. I haven't promised to be a good girl. But with one mouse click, they give me a list of all the IP addresses that voted for the comic.
Isn't that a bad thing? Isn't the IP address something hackers can use to remotely access a computer?
I'm planning on calling my ISP on Monday and letting them know that I inadvertantly compromised my box and would like a new IP address. I don't know how bad a thing it is, but I'm guessing that info being out there can't be good.
Posted by Occasional (Member # 5860) on :
Hate to break it to you, but your IP address is really easy to find. It is true that a list like this makes it easier to find in a mere voting context, but IP addresses are blatantly transparent.
My guess is your repsonse from the ISP is going to be, aside from silence, a grin of amusement. Time and again people claim the Internet is anonymous and yet it is (with just a little know how and work) easier than a phone book to identify a person. In the real word you have to at least ask someone where they are from.
Posted by Jhai (Member # 5633) on :
I get a list of every IP that goes to my blog. Most bloggers can do that. So, um, unless you're actively blocking people from finding your IP, assume any website you go to can see it.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
You have no need of getting a new IP address. And there's no way of blocking websites you visit from finding out yours except by using some sort of proxy, which tend to be more trouble than they're worth.
It doesn't really tell potential attackers anything, though, unless they were already targeting you in particular. The IP ranges that ISPs use are well-known, and easy to scan for active computers.
Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :
I wouldn't worry too much about someone knowing your IP address. As long as you don't have your computer directly connected to the internet (as in, you have a router between your computer and you internet connection), you're more or less safe (at the very least, it takes a good bit of work to break into your network, and the vast majority of hackers aren't willing to waste time on an individual).
If you'd like to determine if you are behind a router and are using Windows XP, go to Start, then to Run and type CMD and enter. This brings up a Command Prompt. Type IPCONFIG and hit enter. This will bring up a list of all the network adapters on your computer and the IP address associated with them. If all the IP addresses start with 192.168 (or, more rarely, 10.0 or 176.16) you are behind a router, and are fairly secure from a direct attack. If the IP address is anything else, you need to go and get a router. Using a broadband connection without a router is the equivalent of leaving the front door to your house open with a sign that reads "come on in" when you aren't at home.
That said, most ISPs will allow you to change your public IP address by power cycling the modem. Of course, every ISP is different (for some annoying reason.)
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
Huh. Hackers lied to me then. I thought the IP was one of those numbers folks just shouldn't have.
Thanks for the advice, everyone.
Posted by Xann. (Member # 11482) on :
I bielive by typeing ping then the website name ie: ping hatrack.com into command prompt will give you the ip adress of any website.
Which may mean hatracks ip is 66.223.20.195 Now when i tried that with www.us.gov my request timed out, and the fbi wil be here soon.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Firewalls could be configured to block ping because a "ping flood" is a rather simple Denail of Service attack to perform.
Posted by fugu13 (Member # 2859) on :
What those you know might have been referring to is, if you're trying to target someone in particular then having their IP address is fairly important, and not always easy to get. But that's a very unlikely scenario.
Posted by AvidReader (Member # 6007) on :
(I actually meant the movie with Angelina Jolie. But you're right, the kid was targeting the tv station specifically.)