A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:Hi. I was wondering if there is anyone on here who knows enough about computers to tell me something. How easy is it for a person to track your IP address? I ask because I suspect someone of doing it to me. He doesn't know me very well yet seems to know too much about me. Makes me wonder if he is tracking my online activity. I feel there is no other way he could know such things about me. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I'd really like to know. He's said before he's good with computers, so that has me even more worried. Reply to this Question
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male
reader, anonymous, writes (23 September 2013): Not being a great fan of social media (aside from stackoverflow, but that's more of an educational tool), IP addresses can be tracked.However, it may not always be cyberstalking, but gang stalking, which is defined as:"Gang stalking is a form of community mobbing and organised stalking combined. Just like you have workplace mobbing, and online mobbing, which are both fully recognised as legitimate, this is the community form.Gang stalking is organised harassment at it's best. It the targeting of an individual for revenge, jealousy, sport, or to keep them quite, etc.It's a psychological attack that can completely destroy a persons life, while leaving little or no evidence to incriminate the perpetrators."Sort of like how little birds gang up on a big owl on a tree trunk, if you think of it that way.He may be part of a gang stalking group, which is an issue that is not often discussed these days.Also, an IP address does not prove anything, to put it laconically; an IP address is not a person.It's like a telephone number used by multiple people.ISP's assigned IP addresses, and multiple people can share one (for example, where I am, one covers much of Leeds and Kirklees - and hundreds of people can have it!)Hope this helps. I do know some things about IT, having got qualifications in it, and doing voluntary work in the sector.
A
male
reader, GentleGiant  +, writes (21 September 2013):
Remember that there is a free tracking program that you can input a persons name and know their location where they live and they can find out a lot about you. You can now take a picture of yourself or your friend cut and paste it into google search and low and behold if there is a pic of you out there it will find it. You have to be really careful about sharing intimate pictures with your significant other or boyfriend or your romantic interlude highlights could be posted some where and could be found.You have to be real careful about anybody you barely know wanting you to come back to their place. Could be hidden cameras and predators lurking who get off on taking intimate and personal moments. You really have to be careful and watch when your talking to strangers. Dont say things cant be done. They probably can and have been done. Change all your passwords and if you feel threatened still pull out of face book for awhile. remember lot of these different sites are linked together. I remember taking a picture of my girlfriend on my Samsung galaxy s4 and it automatically linked it to my facebook account. Had it been a private pic and it got to my facebook account my girlfriend would probably have dumped me. So be careful and think twice before using these multi-media tools and devices. Good-luck..
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A
female
reader, chigirl  +, writes (20 September 2013):
 Btw I once got really scared about someone online knowing everything about me, and it wasn't funny at all. But as it turned out it was my little brother and his friend who were trying to be funny, and started telling me they knew everything about me etc without saying who they were. Anonymous messages etc. It was a shitty thing to do, but at least now you know.. Maybe this guy knows so much about you because someone you know well is telling him! It could be a friend of yours' idea of fun.
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A
female
reader, chigirl +, writes (20 September 2013):
Google your own name and add clue words such as location/university etc if you have a common name. See what results you get. You can find out a lot about people that way, especially if you don't have high security settings on your facebook profile. If your profile is open so that anyone can enter it and see pictures, interests, friends etc, then he doesn't need to be a hacker to know a lot about you.
And if you're extra worried, change passwords on everything and make them different passwords, not the same for all accounts.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (20 September 2013): OP that's not how ip addresses work. He probably just googled your name looked you up on Facebook, twitter, has mutual friends he asked about you to, maybe you appear on a college website or he found your tumblr, instagram etc.
You see it's easy to track most people. You may have your facebook set to private but your work and education showing. That would show your city, country, gender, maybe your face in your profile picture. Would be easy then find your twitter, most girls have their instagram on their twitter which then can be used to view pics with have lots of identifying things in them. Your car, your friends. Maybe your friends list on facebook isn't private. Cover photos aren't private on facebook either, so you can use them to find out things about you by checking out the profiles of people who 'liked' your cover pics. The ones who like the most stuff are most likely closer to you than others so checking their profiles will yield some nice results.
Simple bit of detective work OP and you'll see how he found all this stuff out.
I did a security check on my wife recently.
She posted her number on a comment bebo before and that was still accessible, our address shows up in one of her 4square posts and on as a location in one of her tagged facebook statuses. The type of car she drives is in her instagram, her school, where she works all available to view on Facebook.
Posts from years ago that she doesn't even remember have bits of info that can all be put together to basically form a complete picture of her. It's probably the same for you OP.
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A
female
reader, k_c100  +, writes (20 September 2013):
 IP addresses can only show your location i.e. where the computer is located in the world and what town/city. It cannot tell him further personal information.
The easiest ways to 'stalk' people online are via social media - so facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest....etc. All these kinds of applications that you probably use on a daily basis where you update your status with your activities, have likes and dislikes on there, have friends, birthdays etc.
Change your privacy settings on your social media sites - ensure that one facebook for example the only people that can see your profile are your friends, turn off the ability for people to search your name on facebook, dont allow 'friends of friends' to see your pictures etc. And make sure you apply the same approach to all social media sites too, dont just be strict on Facebook.
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A
male
reader, Xearo  +, writes (20 September 2013):
If one knows how to track an IP it doesn't mean they can track your website surfing behaviour. Chances are that this person is simply following your social media and you could have left traces of yourself on old networking sites that are considered outdated. You may want to check your facebook privacy settings, things you post on twitter and do a search for usernames you use on the internet.
If you are worried about someone "hacking" into your pc, then use a proper Antivirus like Avast! or Avg, and try a firewall program like ZoneAlarm.
If you own a smartphone or laptop to access a public WIFI, then you run a serious risk of being hacked and your behaviour monitored.
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A
female
reader, Honeypie +, writes (20 September 2013):
 Do you have Facebook? Does the account include your full name? Do you have your privacy settings in place? If not, start there.
Most people do not take proper care about what and where they put their details out on the Internet, they think it's safe. It's not. This is why social website have had to beef up the security aspect of it. However it still doesn't mean it is safe.
Also does he have your phone number/e-mail? Be case if he has you e-mail it is not hard at all to track you online.
My suggestion, watch what you put on the Internet, guard you personal information, and check you security settings.
http://www.wikihow.com/Trace-an-IP-Address
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (20 September 2013): I dont know much about computers but I do know an IP address are really easy to get hold of. If he knows what he is doing on a computer then I would be a little paranoid! Look at the sites the other poster put. Also maybe phone your provider, tell them you're concerns and ask if their is anything they can do.
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A
reader, anonymous, writes (20 September 2013): Hi there!
There are really creepy people out there who knows so much about computer and net.But If you feel like someone is really stalking you online, why don't you report it to www.fightcyberstalking.org or quitstalkingme.com/?
There are really people who does not know how to respect other people's privacy. Its something you cant avoid but just be careful. Maybe his so obsessed and in love with you.
Girl, you got a long hair.
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