Question for IT experts.

by badseed 22 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  badseed

  Assuming that everytime I connect to the internet I'm in a different location ex:Starbucks, McDonald's, coffee shop, etc. I then get a different IP address everytime (right?).
  
  Ex: I go at Starbucks, get an IP address, sign into google using [email protected] (send a few emails, post a few comments) then logout and go to the Mcdonald's a few blocks down the street and connect. I get a different IP address, sign into google using [email protected] (send a few emails, post a few comments) then logout. As far as google is concerned two different people logged into their account at two different locations versus using the same location for both users (google would see that both users used the same IP then must/could be the same person). In the first scenario, the only thing common to both locations was my laptop.

  So, is my laptop information also stored somewhere, how and by who? If yes, is it possible to block this?
• 

  baltar447

  You would also have a browser cookie for both users that google could read and "tell" what users originated from your browser on your laptop. I don't know to what extent they care or even try to find out what users come from one system though. I DO know that if you log in from a long geographic distance that it has not seen you login at before, it will alert you that someone could be trying to access your account.
• 

  thetrueone

  Try this little piece of software, it will identify your IP as being somewhere off shore .

  http://expatshield.com/

  As far as IP tracking goes, its not as easy and precise as actually locating your exact address,

  or specifying an attached personal name . Typical trackers can only identify you basic location.

  This subject has been brought up before, on people being concerned about the BORG locating and identifying people who come to this web site.

  By the way your Google mail account should be secure.
• 

  bohm

  as baltar mentioned google will 100% cookie track you, as will any adverticers whos adviticements you see. I would suppose starbucks also track you, perhaps keeping a record of what you visit.

  Even if you turn off cookies and all that, theoretically there is a good chance you could be tracked by using information about you OS, browser, plugins and fonts. I dont think anybody is doing that, but some guys i know was at a conference where it was clear its something a lot of people are interested in.
• 

  baltar447

  You could also try a VPN service. This would prevent hotspots from tracking you. NOT website cookies though.
• 

  mummatron

  When you connect to a network, the device will read your MAC address. That is unique to your laptop whereas the number of assignable IP addresses are limited depending on the type of network, therefore the same IP address assigned to your laptop in Starbucks will eventually be reissued to another device. Whether or not venues like Starbucks choose to keep a record of users' MAC addresses is another matter.
• 

  badseed

  @baltar: I suppose someone could delete cookies as they went before logging on to another network. I think maybe IP addresses can be tracked to a geographic location, so when you log on from across the country, google for example knows that you usually log from IPs in a certain area, so they warn you (or whoever is trying to hack your account..lol). So then, obviously they do keep track of IPs. Looking into the VPN. Thanks.
  
  @thetrueone: Thanks for the link I'll play around with it. It seems free of use, I didn't see a price yet. Maybe at installation or when trying to initially use the service. Anyway I'll see.
  
  @bohm I think continuously deleting cooking would sort of solve that. Kind of a pain in the behind though.
  
  Thanks mummatron. I had read a while back about MAC addresses. I'll read up on that again but I think you can change them manually also (that too a pain}.
• 

  RayPublisher

  @badseed - They cannot track your IP via gmail. Some of the others such as yahoo, aol, etc the recipient can strip your IP address and could get a fairly close location of where you are. Also, whenever you post a comment (like on here) your IP address is logged and can be seen by site admins.

  So without a court order, a gmail account all by itself is pretty safe. Nothing is unhackable, but gmail is pretty good. If you are really worried about email security then use hushmail it's free and even a court order won't help anyone.
• 

  breakfast of champions

  Your MAC address is what you need to look out for. For example: say I go at lunchtime to a chain restaurant that limits wifi between 1130-0100 to 30 min. I use up my 30 min, and after deleting all cookies etc., then travel to another location of the chain and try to connect to their wifi. The wifi at the other location ( if it is smart)sees my MAC address and disallows further wifi usage as my 30 minutes were used up at the last location. Pretty wild stuff... But I do not think there is any way of masking your MAC.

  ....BTW, I am not an IT expert.
• 

  Anony Mous

  Yes, TECHNICALLY, all your data is collected somewhere and TECHNICALLY Google could know if you were both users.

  Your Internal IP/MAC address would be collected by McD however as I doubt they give you a public IP. Google knows the public IP and your account. The other McD MIGHT or MIGHT NOT be connected over the same VPN to a McD concentrator (in order to be more efficient at logging your information, collecting it for advertisements and legal reasons) that uses a common ISP so you MIGHT have the same public IP address. It doesn't really matter actually, all Google sees is a connection from McD. McD however might have control over the DNS etc. and could intercept all traffic so they MIGHT be able to see your laptop and correlate it with security camera's etc. (that's if you go into forensic IT)

  To do it correctly (you're trying to be anonymous) you may (in order of what's better)

  a) Use SSL for all traffic so McD can't intercept your sessions with Google.

  b) Use TOR or another system to tunnel your traffic all over the Internet

  c) Use private VPN's through a few hacked hosts in several countries with logging turned off to tunnel your traffic.

  d) Don't be at a public place with security camera's

  --

  a) Will protect you when interfering with most non-malicious organizations (your grocery store, the bakery on the corner)

  b) Will protect you when interfering with medium-to-large corporations (McDonalds, Watchtower)

  c) Will protect you when interfering with public government (FBI, IRS) and larger US-based corporations (Microsoft, Google)

  d) Will protect you when interfering with private government (NSA, CIA) and the largest multinational corporations (Bayer, Monsanto)

  Nothing will protect you when you're interfering with enough money to put a dent into the economy or messing in government wars (like Wikileaks-level).

  The best thing to do is wardrive with a stolen and cleaned laptop, change your MAC address (it's possible and simple to do in software - Linux OS just allows you to type a new one in) and use several open WiFi points you hack with custom firmware so it doesn't log anything from your car or van (best stolen just in case). Then burn all of the possible evidence, your clothes, your disguises and then take the laptop's hard drive out in order to destroy with self-made (not bought) thermite. Also, don't use credit cards or do anything else that you would habitually do on the Internet, it can all be traced back technically and with enough power into each of the corporations that tracks you for advertisement purposes. Stay away from camera's and don't look up, wear a cap and sunglasses (so satellites and drones can't identify you), use several counterintelligence techniques to lose tails and be away from all RF transmitters before destroying evidence, use GPS and cell phone jammers, walk through the woods for several miles before getting back to your own home and MAYBE they won't find you.