How do you trace an IP address?

[Jobless Oddball]

There's a lot of it about.

Especially where you live!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Twinky]

Update

To let you all know what is happening with this. The police have now located one particular IP address which has been the root cause of many of the emails and also a few other problems.


They had a fight on their hands because one of the forums in particular did not want to play ball with the police (the police said to me that they thought the forum owners were just enjoying the 'increased traffic' and didn't think about the consequences). I don't want to slag off any particular forum as I know that is not allowed on here but the forum who didn't play ball have now been brought into line and have handed over all threads/posts (including ones which were deleted from the main forum) and handed them to the police together with IP addresses of posters. This because one of the emails specifically mentioned a particular thread, on a particular forum in relation to the threats they made towards my family via email. But, not only because of this, it also happened that an entirely innocent individual, who has never belonged to any internet forum, was unfortunately named in one of those threads as someone who 'might be me' (eh?) and, very sadly, that person received some real life harrassment including threatening letters and an attempted real life assault, went to the police, who tied it up with the problems I'd had after reading some of the publicly deleted threads which included names and addresses of people thought to be, in some way, connected with me (something I didn't realise). The long and short of it is, some poor person, who has nothing to do with any campaign against me, has been seriously affected by this because some idiot thought there was some connection. I do not know the full details of this person as the police don't give out that sort of info but, all I can say is, I'm very glad I went to them as it's turned out to be much nastier than I first imagined, and it is now being dealt with very seriously indeed.

[Ck]

I'm glad it's been taken seriously. I'm all for communicating free speech and airing opinions/grievences and grumps on the net but sadly some twerps take this too far by making up elaborate weird scenerios, adding 2 and 2 to make 56 and playing at google detectives. Whilst they sit back and pride themselves with their gains they don't even stop to think that they might have got it wrong. Wrong?? No never, they is right never wrong! They can make the noises so that everyone will believe they are right too with the power of hyperlinks. Bravo well done, fuckin idjots

[timey]

A lot of pople actually don't think harassing people by email has consequences, which is why they do it, as well as the fact that it is easy and can be done from their own living rooms. They also think that they can't be traced but they can. It's pretty cowardly and I'm glad to see that the police are taking it seriously.

[TheMob]

Tis easy:

inetnum: 86.128.0.0 - 86.135.255.255
remarks: ******************************************************
remarks: * Please send abuse reports to abuse@btbroadband.com *
remarks: ******************************************************
netname: BT-CENTRAL-PLUS
descr: IP pools
country: GB
admin-c: BTCP1-RIPE
tech-c: BTCP1-RIPE
status: ASSIGNED PA
remarks: Please send abuse notification to abuse@btbroadband.com
mnt-by: BTNET-MNT
mnt-lower: BTNET-MNT
mnt-routes: BTNET-MNT
changed: ipaddman@bt.com 20050223
source: RIPE

role: BT CENTRAL PLUS - OPERATIONAL SUPPORT
remarks: ******************************************************
remarks: * Please send abuse reports to abuse@btbroadband.com *
remarks: ******************************************************
address: BT
address: Wholesale
address: UK
e-mail: steve.r.wright@bt.com
abuse-mailbox: abuse@btbroadband.com
admin-c: PC487-RIPE
tech-c: SR401-RIPE
nic-hdl: BTCP1-RIPE
mnt-by: BTNET-MNT
changed: preston.dialip@bt.com 20040608
changed: preston.dialip@bt.com 20040623
changed: ipaddman@bt.com 20050505
source: RIPE

% Information related to '86.128.0.0/10AS2856'

route: 86.128.0.0/10
descr: BT Public Internet Service
origin: AS2856
mnt-by: BTNET-MNT
changed: ipmaster@bt.com 20050212
source: RIPE

% Information related to '86.128.0.0/12AS2856'

route: 86.128.0.0/12
descr: BT Public Internet Service
origin: AS2856
mnt-by: BTNET-MNT
changed: ipmaster@bt.com 20070724
source: RIPE

[Ck]

What does that mean in English?

[TheMob]

What does that mean in English?

In short that is the contact details for the company that owns the IP.

If they are given the IP number, time and date of the useage they can determine exactly who the culprit was.

[timey]

You just put the IP address into a whois search to get that. (I thought forum admins had access to that sort of stuff).

[Ck]

You just put the IP address into a whois search to get that. (I thought forum admins had access to that sort of stuff).

I never bother with stuff like that now. I used to on that other forum we had ages ago but that's cos it was like a new toy to play with but these days I spend all my time nattering.

Anyway, I couldn't understand it back then either. It looks like a load of gobbledegook and when I traced my own it said I was in Amsterdam.

Mob... What's that about Steve Wright and Preston?

[TheMob]

You just put the IP address into a whois search to get that. (I thought forum admins had access to that sort of stuff).

Correct. It's very simple . Tracking down an IP to an individual is a swine but in the OP's case all he needs is the ISP details.