# IP Addresses



## Granny

Is there a way to find IP addresses on a forum?  There's a local forum that's got some bad stuff on it that directly affects some members of my family.  All are using made up names (of course) and we'd like to try to find out who is doing the posting.

Thanks for any help you can give.


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## Madeline

This article might help, Granny.

Web Site Address - How to Find IP Address For a Web Site

I am very sorry to hear you are having such trouble.


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## xotoxi

AWWW SHIT!

With Granny on the case...HEADS WILL ROLL!


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## Quantum Windbag

If you use Firefox you can use this.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/590/

In Chrome it is here.

https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/bpffihkombhdbegnjaehbfnilgkkhmam


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## syrenn

Granny said:


> Is there a way to find IP addresses on a forum?  There's a local forum that's got some bad stuff on it that directly affects some members of my family.  All are using made up names (of course) and we'd like to try to find out who is doing the posting.
> 
> Thanks for any help you can give.



Are you asking about finding a_ site _IP address or a _members_ IP address?

Depending on level of Admin access a person has all IP's of members show. A regular member should not be able to see other members IP addresses.


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## AllieBaba

Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.

If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?


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## chanel

I did ome research on this a while back and I think syrenn is correct. Only administrators have access to exact IPs and even then it is not easy to pinpoint a name or exact location. Contact the system administrator and see if these people can be banned.


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## blu

i think she wants the IP address of the posters doing it, not the forums web server IP address. There is no way to get as a normal user, but administrators and possibly moderators on the forum do and those who control the hosting box do as well.

you could also setup your own web page somewhere and trick the people posting into following a link to your web page and then you would have it. depending on their email provider, you could also get them to send you an email which would reveal their ip instead of just the mail server


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## ConHog

Any forum should be set up so that the admins can track the IP of users. I've never seen one that wasn't.


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## Granny

AllieBaba said:


> Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.
> 
> If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?



People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.


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## syrenn

Granny said:


> AllieBaba said:
> 
> 
> 
> Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.
> 
> If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
Click to expand...


The only to get a site to take anything down if they are not willing is to sue them. 

Are you talking about a social network that the kid might see what is going on?


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## Granny

syrenn said:


> Granny said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> AllieBaba said:
> 
> 
> 
> Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.
> 
> If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> The only to get a site to take anything down if they are not willing is to sue them.
> 
> Are you talking about a social network that the kid might see what is going on?
Click to expand...


Yes - that's one of the worries.  What happens a few years down the road if the child comes across this thing and reads this stuff?  It shouldn't happen - it's detrimental to the child's well-being.


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## Douger

Granny said:


> syrenn said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Granny said:
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The only to get a site to take anything down if they are not willing is to sue them.
> 
> Are you talking about a social network that the kid might see what is going on?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Yes - that's one of the worries.  What happens a few years down the road if the child comes across this thing and reads this stuff?  It shouldn't happen - it's detrimental to the child's well-being.
Click to expand...

Duh troof makes kids smarter.
It should also cause a mass exodus...............Nah.
 Paris Hilton got out of the charges !!! OMG OMG Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.


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## Mini 14

Granny said:


> AllieBaba said:
> 
> 
> 
> Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.
> 
> If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
Click to expand...


Until a law is broken, the admin/owner of the site is under an obligation to NOT reveal the IP addresses (unless users waive that right as a condition of use). And once a law IS broken, they are only going to share that info with Law Enforcement.

You'll have to file a complaint with Law Enforcement in the area where the service is physically located (unless the laws have changed in the past 10 years).


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## ConHog

Mini 14 said:


> Granny said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> AllieBaba said:
> 
> 
> 
> Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.
> 
> If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Until a law is broken, the admin/owner of the site is under an obligation to NOT reveal the IP addresses (unless users waive that right as a condition of use). And once a law IS broken, they are only going to share that info with Law Enforcement.
> 
> You'll have to file a complaint with Law Enforcement in the area where the service is physically located (unless the laws have changed in the past 10 years).
Click to expand...


Or get a good sniffer program.


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## blu

ConHog said:


> Mini 14 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Granny said:
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Until a law is broken, the admin/owner of the site is under an obligation to NOT reveal the IP addresses (unless users waive that right as a condition of use). And once a law IS broken, they are only going to share that info with Law Enforcement.
> 
> You'll have to file a complaint with Law Enforcement in the area where the service is physically located (unless the laws have changed in the past 10 years).
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Or get a good sniffer program.
Click to expand...


umm that wouldn't do anything. you would just see traffic between yourself and the board. in order for the sniffer to see what you want it would have to be running on the web server of the board


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## waltky

Europe outgrows IPv4...

*Europe hits old internet address limits*
_14 September 2012 - Europe's stock of old-style net addresses has effectively run dry._


> Europe has almost exhausted its stock of old-style internet addresses.  Strict rationing of these addresses - called IPv4 - has been started by the body that hands them out in Europe.  From now on, companies can only make one more application for IPv4 addresses and, if successful, will only get 1,024 of them.  In addition, any application for more old addresses must demonstrate how an organisation is using the new, replacement, addressing scheme.  "The day has come, finally," said Axel Pawlik, managing director of the Ripe NCC that hands out addresses to European ISPs, firms and other organisations.
> 
> Every device that goes online is allocated a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address.  The internet grew up using an addressing scheme called IP Version 4 (IPv4). In the 1970s when the web was being built the 4.3 billion IP addresses allowed by IPv4 were thought to be enough.  However, the rapid growth of the internet and popularity of the web have swiftly exhausted this pool.  The growth of the net is linked to the size of the pool because everything that connects to the net needs an IP address to send and receive data.
> 
> Restrictions
> 
> Plans are afoot to move to a new scheme, known as IP Version 6 (IPv6), that has an effectively inexhaustible supply of addresses.  On 14 September Ripe NCC got down to its last 16 million IPv4 addresses. While this might sound a lot, said Mr Pawlik, the use of this last substantial block would be so heavily restricted that the supply could be considered to be at an end.  "Applicants will only get about 1,000 addresses," said Mr Pawlik, "and that's it and they only get them once and that's the end of it."  To even get that small number of IPv4 addresses, he said, applicants must already have an allocation of IPv6 addresses and demonstrate how they planned to use them.
> 
> Immediately prior to reaching the last big block Ripe was handing out just under four million IPv4 addresses every 10 days.  Anyone planning expansion based around the net should already be committed to using IPv6, said Mr Pawlik.  Other techniques based around technical tricks that share IPv4 addresses among many different devices would prove increasingly unworkable, he said.  "They are complicated, potentially unstable and expensive," he said. "The other route they could go is to v6 as it's in most of the net equipment now."
> 
> BBC News - Europe hits old internet address limits


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## catie

blu said:


> ConHog said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Mini 14 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Until a law is broken, the admin/owner of the site is under an obligation to NOT reveal the IP addresses (unless users waive that right as a condition of use). And once a law IS broken, they are only going to share that info with Law Enforcement.
> 
> You'll have to file a complaint with Law Enforcement in the area where the service is physically located (unless the laws have changed in the past 10 years).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Or get a good sniffer program.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> umm that wouldn't do anything. you would just see traffic between yourself and the board. in order for the sniffer to see what you want it would have to be running on the web server of the board
Click to expand...


There is a way to find out the IP address of a member of a forum even when that forum's moderators are uncooperative, and it doesn't mean hacking the forum or anything like that.

I've done it recently to a member of a forum recently on accident and realized it afterward.  Here's how.
I have my own website, which logs all http accesses.  I used the forum's private message feature to send a message to the specific person, and inside the message embedded a picture hosted on my website.  The address of the picture isn't revealed to anyone or posted anywhere else, just put in the PM.
Later check your website's logs for accesses of that picture file from ip addresses that don't belong to yourself.  That would be the accesses from the forum user of whom you are gathering data for.  (Or a nosy forum admin reading people's private messages)
In the log of your own website, filter down to that one picture filename, and it will tell you the date/time accessed, IP address, browser and OS type & version.  You can look up the ip address on some websites to tell you the hostname and often approximate location (what city).  Though that would do no good if the person is smart enough to be checking his/her PM's on their forum while signed into a proxy.


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## Politico

So the answer is set up a website just so you can load pictures?


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## Bleipriester

Politico said:


> So the answer is set up a website just so you can load pictures?


I would join that board and tell ´em they are assholes.


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## iamwhatiseem

catie said:


> blu said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ConHog said:
> 
> 
> 
> Or get a good sniffer program.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> umm that wouldn't do anything. you would just see traffic between yourself and the board. in order for the sniffer to see what you want it would have to be running on the web server of the board
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> There is a way to find out the IP address of a member of a forum even when that forum's moderators are uncooperative, and it doesn't mean hacking the forum or anything like that.
> 
> I've done it recently to a member of a forum recently on accident and realized it afterward.  Here's how.
> I have my own website, which logs all http accesses.  I used the forum's private message feature to send a message to the specific person, and inside the message embedded a picture hosted on my website.  The address of the picture isn't revealed to anyone or posted anywhere else, just put in the PM.
> Later check your website's logs for accesses of that picture file from ip addresses that don't belong to yourself.  That would be the accesses from the forum user of whom you are gathering data for.  (Or a nosy forum admin reading people's private messages)
> In the log of your own website, filter down to that one picture filename, and it will tell you the date/time accessed, IP address, browser and OS type & version.  You can look up the ip address on some websites to tell you the hostname and often approximate location (what city).  Though that would do no good if the person is smart enough to be checking his/her PM's on their forum while signed into a proxy.
Click to expand...


This is accurate.
There are other applications that do this as well.
But you have to be careful doing this, the authorities just might decide what you are doing is worse than what they did.
Everyone here is correct that without Admin access, you have no frontend way of finding that persons IP address. The above post is correct, as long as that person responds.
  What can you do? 
Calm down. Is what is said inaccurate? (provably) And more important does it cause harm? Can you specifically show where the comments cause financial harm?
  The Authorities will not get involved whatsoever unless it can be specifically shown to cause harm beyond pissing you off. "Granny is a stupid bitch who doesn't take care of her kids" is a subjective statement that is not actionable. "Granny's grandaughter Susie told me that Granny has molested her and other kids" - this is actionable. It is specific, and can be proven to be inaccurate. 
"Bob doesn't do a good job in his business, his laziness is hurting us" - subjective. "Bob stole $3000 from the till by forging a clients signature" - actionable.


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## Geaux4it

Granny said:


> AllieBaba said:
> 
> 
> 
> Define "bad stuff" and "affects". Because if what they're doing is illegal, you report it and let the pros find them.
> 
> If it's not illegal, why exactly do you need to know who they are?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> People talking smack about my son-in-law and his (ahem) "business partner."  There's a child in this sordid mess.  My daughter has tried to get the admin to take the damn thing down and it's no go.  We just don't know who the posters are - for all we know the "business partner" herself may be behind the whole thing - she appears to thrive on attention.  As near as I can figure this is about the 4th marriage the "business partner" has broken up.
Click to expand...


I would just quit going to that forum

-Geaux


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