Tip of the Week: Spot a Hacker By Investigating Their IP Address
Have you ever wondered how your PC is identified from the billions of other devices out there? Just like every human being has specific physiological traits that make up who they are, your computer’s IP address is somewhat unique to your machine and can say a lot about you. Therefore it is important you are able to identify your own IP address when you need to.
Determining Your Own IP Address
Luckily checking your IP address is as easy as going to the website – Doing so will display a string of numbers that correlates to your IP address. Knowing your IP address is particularly important for your Internet browsing.
What Exactly Is an IP Address?
It might only look like a random string of numbers, but there’s much more to an IP address. Gartner’s IT Glossary defines an IP (Internet Protocol) address as such:
A unique number assigned by an Internet authority that identifies a computer on the Internet. The number consists of four groups of numbers between 0 and 255, separated by periods (dots). For example, 195. 112. 56. 75 is an IP address.
As you might imagine knowing how to identify IP addresses is important for a business owner who is responsible for maintaining control over a network of private, proprietary or sensitive information. Knowing how to identify an IP address allows you to see who has been accessing your network. These records are often stored in a log for you to review, and checking this log is a great way to see if there has been any suspicious activity on your network.
Who’s That IP Address?
You can use an IP address to find out where a computer is coming from, like its country of origin and much more. Here are some red flags to look for in IP addresses:
Countries with a reputation for harboring hackers.
Your competition.
Former employees.
Foreign countries that your business has absolutely nothing to do with.
To find out information like this, you can easily copy and paste the IP address in question into a form found here:
Granted, you can’t expect too much from a free online tool – you won’t get specific street names or usernames for example, but you will still be able find out quite a few details.
The ISP and organisation’s name.
The IP’s host name.
The city (a best guess).
The latitude and longitude of the location (a best guess).
The area code for that region.
Any known services running on that IP.
Why Bother Knowing Your IP Address?
Most hackers will understand that they can be tracked down by authorities identifying their IP address, so advanced hackers will attempt to make it as difficult as possible for you to find out their identity. They do so by bouncing their signal from different IPs around the globe, making it borderline impossible to pinpoint their location. A hacker could potentially use a local IP address, but really be halfway across the world.
It is for this reason that you should always be on the lookout for suspicious network activity from unrecognised IPs. If you want to optimise your network’s security and your ability to respond to threats, you will want to use a comprehensive network security solution like BTA’s, that is designed to monitor for suspicious network access.
Also, by having BTA strategically monitor your access logs with our remote monitoring service, we can blacklist specific IPs so that they can never access your network again. In fact, a UTM solution from BTA even has the power to block entire countries where hackers spring up regularly. For more information about how we can protect your network from suspicious activity, give us a call today on 020 8875 7676.
Topics:
ip-address,
Tip-of-the-week,
internet
Written by
Scott is BTA’s founding partner and resident IT Networking Wizard.
How to Track an IP Address to Catch a Hacker – Colocation …
Cyber criminals are becoming a major threat to computer users throughout the world. Many of these criminals are very bold because they believe that they can hide behind the cloak of anonymity on the Internet.
Cyber criminals are becoming a major threat to computer users throughout the world.
Many of these criminals are very bold because they believe that they can hide behind the cloak of anonymity on the Internet.
Fortunately, computer hackers are not untraceable. You can identify them and help the authorities make a case against cyber criminals if you follow a few measures.
How to Trace an IP Address
Here are a few basic guidelines to help you trace computer hackers. Keep in mind that many sophisticated computer hackers will be more cautious about tracing their steps. Many hackers use proxies or dark web sites such as Tor. They can still be traced, but doing so may be a bit more difficult. These guidelines may help you identify some hackers, but you may need the assistance of an expert to catch many in real life.
How to Trace a Hacker
You will need to identify the IP address of the intruder. There are a variety of Linux commands and tools that can tell you what the IP address is of any computer that is trying to make a connection. You can find the IP address of anyone trying to hack your own website on your hosting logs, Google Analytics or another analytics can try to use a tool such as NetStat to identify the IP addresses of anyone trying to connect to your computer.
What to do with the information: Once you have an IP address you can find out where the connection is coming from. Keep in mind that these simpler tools won’t be able to tell you exactly where they are, but can give you a reasonable idea what city they are in and what hosting provider they are using.
You can use the traceart command to find the hostname of the IP address that the hacker is using to access your machine. You can also put the IP address on the trace-route tool on the Princeton website. Another alternative is to use the GEOIPTool to get a rough idea where the hacker is located.
Reporting an IP Address Hacker
You won’t be able to track the hacker’s exact identity when you try these techniques. However, there are a couple of ways that you can use it:
– You can turn them over to the authorities.
– You can report them to their hosting provider after learning their identity.
I would suggest the former in most situations. You will know which country’s jurisdiction to contact to report the crime.
IP Hackers: How to Remain Vigilant
Some hackers are annoying pests that have too much time on their hands. Others are much more sophisticated and dangerous. You will always need to be on your guard to protect yourself.
The topics I covered above can help you learn enough about a hacker to report them to the authorities or their ISP. However, they will usually not be very effective against more sophisticated hackers who are trying to cover their tracks. You should always take the necessary steps to keep your computer safe and leave the harder work to the authorities. Above all, make sure that you don’t try to use any information you find to antagonize them. You don’t know what havoc they could wreak on your system if you aren’t so careful.
About the Author: Kalen is a technology and security writer who shares tips on identifying and stopping criminals.
What can someone do with my IP address? | NordVPN
There are dangers to someone knowing your IP address, but they’re rarely discussed. Criminals can use your IP to launch various cyberattacks and scams against you and others. Before we begin, however, let’s start with finding out what your personal IP address is: What is my IP? By the end of this post, you’ll know what to protect yourself against and discover ways to hide your IP address. Pretty can someone find my IP address? Your IP address is a unique string of numbers assigned to you by your ISP – like a delivery address for online traffic. If you connect to a different Wi-Fi or move house, your IP address will change along with your ISPs use dynamic IP addresses, which aren’t fixed to your device, but you can have a static IP if you wish to (you can learn more about different types of IP addresses here). For example, if you want your computer IP address to always stay the same, you’ll be able to specify that through the device’s settings. This can be useful when port-forwarding, if you want certain data to be sent directly from your router to your computer IP your IP address holds certain information about you, someone may want to use it for malicious purposes. There plenty of ways people can get hold of your IP address. Here are just a few:If you torrent files. When you download content from torrent sites, every member of the swarm (total seeders and leechers) can see your IP address. All they need to do is check the list of borrowing your device. If somebody borrows or uses your computer, they can find out what your IP address is in seconds, as there are countless free websites that let you do an email. If you send an email to someone, they can check the header of the message, which could contain your IP address. Yahoo! and Microsoft Outlook are known to include IP addresses in the email icking on a link. Any link you click on will need to provide your iP address for the server at the other end to deliver the content provided by the link. Whoever owns that server will see your IP a VPN hide my IP address? Yes, it does. A VPN completely hides your IP address and encrypts your internet connection. Even better, a VPN prevents third parties like your ISP from eavesdropping on your data. Your online activity cannot be traced back to you, giving you a powerful layer of rdVPN has more than 5500 servers in 59 countries, providing you with the best speeds available. With one NordVPN account, you can protect up to six different devices: smartphones, tablets, laptops, and more. You can also install it on your router and secure gadgets that don’t support VPN functionality can jump from one server to another in seconds, changing your IP address and masking your location. Protect your online privacy out NordVPN on the latest cyber news and tipsWhat can people do with your IP? While your IP address won’t give away sensitive information like your phone number or apartment position, hackers can still use your IP against you. If a cybercriminal knows your IP address, the consequences can be devastating:Someone can get your location and intrude on your privacy in real lifeYour IP address shows what city you’re in, so if someone ill-intentioned finds it out, you could be in trouble. Let’s say you’ve announced that you’re going on holiday on your social media. A criminal only needs to do a little extra digging to find your house and burgle it while you’re meone can use your IP to hack your deviceThe internet uses ports as well as your IP address to connect. There are thousands of ports for every IP address, and a hacker who has your IP can try all of those ports to brute-force a connection, taking over your phone for example and stealing your a criminal does get access to your device, they could also install malware on it, which could expose your meone can impersonate you to get hold of your IP addressYour ISP could reveal your IP address to someone else. Criminals who know your name on social media can contact your ISP and try to impersonate you or use a vishing attack to steal your personal details. Remember that telecom operators are only humans who use systems with vast amounts of personally identifiable information. Employers can track your activityIPs are owned by ISPs, and each IP is assigned to a user. When you’re connected to your work network your employers could potentially see and track everything you do online – giving you hardly any privacy at all. A hacker can hit you with a DDoS attackIf a hacker has your IP address, they could harm you with a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. A DDoS attack uses an army of computers controlled by a hacker to flood your device with traffic so it disconnects from the internet and completely shuts bercriminals can frame you for illegal activityHackers are known to use hacked IP addresses to download illegal content that threatens national security as well as anything else they don’t want traced back to them. Protect your IP address, and you will protect do I stop someone from using my IP address? You should always protect any personally identifiable information even if you think the risks do not apply to you. With enough determination, a bad actor can stitch together an entire identity just by going online, and your IP could be the starting are three ways to protect your IP address and prevent yourself from being exploited by hackers: Change your privacy settingsChange the settings on all your instant messaging as well as any other apps to “private” and don’t accept calls or messages from people you don’t know. Hackers are known to gain access to your IP address through messaging apps like Skype. Update your firewall and routerA criminal can hack your router remotely and retrieve your IP address, especially if you’re still using the default one. Change the password of your router regularly and be sure to use a long mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. Use a VPNA VPN will protect your IP address and your private information. By routing your online data through a VPN server with its own IP address, you can prevent websites from logging information about your device and location. While you might be principally interested in VPNs for their IP-switching functionality, they also come with a range of additional other benefits can a VPN offer? A VPN will establish an encrypted tunnel between your device and a VPN server. That means that no one can spy on your data as it moves from your device to the server — not even your internet service provider (ISP) has never been more valuable. Your ISP can monitor your activity and sell that information to advertisers and other third parties. Hackers can steal your passwords and use your private details to launch phishing attacks. It’s vital that you protect your rdVPN provides a number of extra features that you might find particularly useful. Our CyberSec system will enhance your protection against malware by shielding you from high-risk websites and other known threats. When Kill Switch is enabled, you can avoid any unexpected data exposure. And with the NordLynx protocol, you can enjoy unrivaled speeds, without compromising on out NordVPN on the latest cyber news and tips
Zen Bahar
Verified author
Zen likes to use her cybersecurity knowledge to help protect the privacy and freedom of others, otherwise, you can find her playing with paints in her studio in London.