Ip Address Closeness

[rjmiller15]

I understand that with ip addresses, and dialup, you can constantly change your ip address. However I noticed that a certain person (who I am tracking with an ip address) uses AOL. Everything has been the same with their ip except the last 3 digits.

Example: 64.12.116.XXX is their ip The "xxx" keeps changing.

I found another ip - which is 64.12.117.xxx. Would this ip address be in any relation to the 64.12.116??? Or am I way off here?

[Matt]

Hi rjmiller15, yes they would be related. I'm weary to get in depth about this as malicious intents shall not become the topic of discussion. However, here is some info: AOL uses all the ip addresses between 64.12.0.0 - 64.12.255.255 All ISPs have a NetRange.

Matt

[rjmiller15]

No, I am not trying to be malicious! Trust me. I am just trying to understand ip addresses.

Hi rjmiller15, yes they would be related. I'm weary to get in depth about this as malicious intents shall not become the topic of discussion. However, here is some info: AOL uses all the ip addresses between 64.12.0.0 - 64.12.255.255 All ISPs have a NetRange.

Matt

[JDoors]

She's signing on to AOL's network, using AOL's assigned addresses, and AOL assigns her one of those addresses each time she signs on. (If only it were that easy .... )

[parkgoons]

we know your not trying to do anything bad, most of us trust you. The fact is that someone we DONT trust could come along read this forum use this information to harm someone and then we would be the ones who were partley at fault because we gave out that sensitive information. sorry perhaps you should email one of us for further help that would make us more comfortable to talk about.

[mlegg510]

Jen if you want find me on AIM sometime and we can talk about it.

They are right by not wanting info to just get out and can possibly be abused.

[jcl]

The fact is that someone we DONT trust could come along read this forum use this information to harm someone and then we would be the ones who were partley at fault because we gave out that sensitive information.

It's hard to imagine how the information she requested could be considered sensitive. There is a possibility that it could be used maliciously, but if we're going to refrain from posting any information that could be used maliciously BT may as well shut down the site.

[Besttechie]

Hi Everyone,

I think this is a very important issue to address. So I'm going to try and clear this up.

Ok, it's quite simple actually. We do not support hacking here, it is not allowed. By hacking I am referring to cracking/expoliting. I know 'hacking' something can be used differently depending on the context you're using. Now, as for IP Addresses, we do not give away members IP addresses or email addresses. Now, as for helping someone with a question such as this one it can be interpreted differently by different people. I am getting a Terms of Use or Terms of Service whichever you like to call it written up for the site. One of the things it will mention is we are not liable for the information that is provided on the site (as far as the help is concerned anyway). The reason for that is because if let's say we were helping someone with a HJT log, and they messed something up in the fix (not the helper, but the person being helped) I could possibly get sued by this person, which is something I wouldn't want happening.

Anyway, back to this thread, like I said we are not going to give out members IP Addesses. However, that doesn't mean we can't help with a question like this because the person we're talking about is not a member here. I hope that makes sense, and the ToS will be up on the site as soon as it's done.

B

[Pete_C]

Okay, here is my two cents

Read this http://www.mynetwatchman.com/kb/security/Articles/AolVPN/

http://www.maxmind.com/app/faq#aol

AOL routes their traffic through proxy servers. It is not possible to target AOL users on a state level, due to the way that AOL routes traffic from multiple states through the same IP address.

http://kalsey.com/2004/02/why_ip_banning_is_useless/

Many ISPs (including AOL) and companies use a proxy server that makes it appear as if all users are coming from a single (or a handful) if IP addresses. By blocking an IP address, you might be preventing a substantial portion of AOL users from commenting. Depending on your point of view, eliminating AOL may not be a great loss; however the same thing would happen to millions of users behind other proxy servers.

AOL uses a pseudo proxy/ pseudo VPN , really bizarre setup.

When you do a normal http IP check (like the one moderators on boards like this use) you see a virtual IP assigned by the AOL gateway, kind of like they were running through a proxy server. Regardless of whether they have a dynamic or static IP, they are reassigned a dynamic one by the AOL gateway .

There are simple techniques for admins to see the real IP behind this (by using some call for non http traffic, a java call for example ) just as they can see your real one if you use a proxy to pretend you are anonymous.

So , what you are actually seeing by all of them being of the 64.12.116.XXX format means she is connecting through the gateway 64.12.116 which has one thousand dynamic addresses it reasigns through clients. In reality they have several different blocks running through one gateway (64.12.11x for example )

64.12.116.123 = [ wc1-mtc-G0-1-3.net.aol.com ]

OrgName: America Online Inc.

OrgID: AMERIC-158

Address: 10600 Infantry Ridge Road

City: Manassas

StateProv: VA

PostalCode: 20109

Country: US

NetRange: 64.12.0.0 - 64.12.255.255

http://www.samspade.org/

So, in fact all you know is they are one of the millions of users connecting through this particular AOL gateway in Virginia.

Hope that clears it up a bit.

Edited December 1, 2005 by Pete_C