PO BOX To Hide Your Physical Address

[OffRoaderX]

30 minutes ago, marcspaz said:

Once upon a time ago anyone could lookup your IP address and it would show your name and address when you ran a certain type of query (not whois)... You still can today, but with the introduction of IPv6, you either need to perform a packet capture to view the payload or you need to do a reverse lookup to get the host name, and then search for that host name's location.

Not to argue, but, I respectfully disagree - Prove me wrong by telling me my name and address (using only my IP, not other methods), I will make it easy by giving you my IPv4:  137.25.167.239

[marcspaz]

45 minutes ago, OffRoaderX said:

Not to argue, but, I respectfully disagree - Prove me wrong by telling me my name and address (using only my IP, not other methods), I will make it easy by giving you my IPv4:  137.25.167.239

 

 I'm on the road right now. when I get home tonight tonight I'll take a look at it.. I am going to send you a PM because I don't want everybody to know how it works and I'm going to show you every step of the process so you know I didn't cheat.

 

 By the way the way I can't do a packet capture without a warrant to do a man in the middle capture or without permission of the system owner to set up traces on the network. So I'll have to do a reverse look up. I don't feel like getting fired for doing a man in the middle attack without a warrant.

[WROZ250]

4 hours ago, OffRoaderX said:

Thats because your Internet gateway/router and/or IP address does not give away your location as previously claimed, it gives away location information for your ISP.

That statement is not entirely true...

While admittedly not universal, there are still many ISPs that identify/correlate the router hardware address with the physical customer location.  It may not be evident when one is shopping online and, for example, you click OK for them using your location (based on the IP address), to find the closest retail location.  However, your location information is held by the ISP in some database which can be accessed/hacked.

And while it isn't true these days, as @marcspaz pointed out, there once was a time when it was possible to not only locate a person's physical address, based on the IP and hardware address, in some large commercial buildings it was possible to actually find out, for example, what floor and network switch port the other computer was on.  To do this required a level of knowledge and the right 'tools', but the data was there for the taking.

The point is, even though much of that level of information isn't as openly accessible today the network systems, at least the major ISPs, still gather and store that kind of data.  It's just a bit more difficult to get at now.

All that said...

In the bigger picture, it's rarely just one's address information that is a threat to one's privacy, it the reality is that virtually everything about an individual is stored online somewhere.  All that need be done is to collect enough of that information on someone to gain access to their lives.  You really don't believe these A-holes that commit identity theft got all their information online?

Finally, and this is for OffroaderX....

You twisted my comment around a bit to dismiss it.   No, the gateway/router does not itself directly provide the location, Rather the ISP that installed it and, as the industry buss word goes, 'partitioned it onto their network', maintains and keeps a record of the location of that device's hardware address (not the IP address) and, as I've already said, keeps that information in a database.  So a minor technical error in my statement, but the end effect is the same.

Just because you've never seen or experienced something personally, doesn't make it untrue or 'bullshit', nor does it make the person who you disagreed with wrong or a lesser open for ridicule. Quite frankly that 'standard response' to almost anything anyone says that you disagree with is a bit tiring.  Maybe once in a while admit to yourself that you aren't the universal know it all.

You're not 'gods gift to information' although it does make for an amusing shtick aspect to your videos, most of which are quite good. 

However, you do it so often, one can't help but begin to wonder if it isn't shtick at all, but the real you.  Perhaps you're over compensating for something? 

To take a queue from Shakespeare Thou Protest Too Much Me Thinks.

Give it a fracking rest already.




 

[marcspaz]

So, I sent Randy what I found.  Just waiting for confirmation before I share my results.  I will only be sharing Pass/Fail info, though.

[OffRoaderX]

I will let @marcspazpost his results..

@WROZ250 I will concede that with my IP address IF someone successfully hacks into my ISP and IF my dynamic IP has not changed between the time the hack occurred and when someone is reviewing the info, then yes, it is possible to get someone's information.. The chances of that happening in reality for someone targeting you is slim, and there are much easier ways to get info on people.

Pretty sure I didnt use the word bullshit - i was just pointing out that the words you posted for us to all read, were incorrect, or at a minimum, way, oversimplified, as stated.

[marcspaz]

So, I had fun goofing around today... and the results are a fail (thankfully).  All the publicly available tool were a complete failure. This is a very good thing.

 

So, as @OffRoaderX mentioned, short of a hacker compromising the service provider (which is very, very difficult), today no one is grabbing your information from just your IP.

 

Thanks for the friendly challenge Randy!

[rdunajewski]

Many people lately are asking to change their myGMRS username from their callsign. Seems that they think this is providing some kind of extra security, but it really isn't. Any site user can easily look up a username to see the associated GMRS callsign or vice versa, so picking a different username provides no extra security.

I've been using the PO Box method for many years now, and it's really the best way to go if you're concerned about your home address being visible. However, as others have mentioned, you might want to Google your name first and see all the websites that publish a copy of your public records such as your property records and phone numbers. These websites are much more dangerous, and you should go to each one and request they remove your information. There's usually a "Do Not Sell My Information" link in the footer of the website and you can fill out a form to have the information purged. It'll be available for a while in Google, but eventually it'll be gone (notwithstanding websites or people that already grabbed the information).

And if you're worried about the Federal government using any of these tools to "find you", you've been living in a hole. If they really wanted to know, they could know which room of your house you're currently in and all your dirty secrets from over the years. Unless you're living off the grid with no technology, you're very easy to find. So try to be a little more rational.

[MichaelLAX]

5 hours ago, rdunajewski said:

Many people lately are asking to change their myGMRS username from their callsign. Seems that they think this is providing some kind of extra security, but it really isn't. Any site user can easily look up a username to see the associated GMRS callsign or vice versa, so picking a different username provides no extra security.

How can I get a usernames GMRS id?

[Coffeemaker]

On 7/5/2022 at 1:14 PM, axorlov said:

PO boxes cost non-trivial amount per month where I live. This is why I have my real address on my FRN. Any wacko can come and meet their match! We will see who is the wackiest.

 

Even if it is, it is a worthwhile investment to keep the whole world at arm's length. 

[WRUK284]

On 7/6/2022 at 9:14 AM, marcspaz said:

 

True... but if people are worried about that, they may as well never turn a computer on ever again.  Tracking cookies are worse and available to more people.... and if you are using location services on your phone, not only can I find your house, I can find you work location, where you like to by groceries, where you really were when you told the wife you were going to hang out with the fellas...  I can even grab all of your account login information for banks, forums, social media, find out what you have been searching for and shopping for online, etc.

 

People hearing my call sign on the air is so innocuous compared to using a computer or phone to access this (or any other) website.  It's just not a big deal.

 

Simply run a VPN and your PC is vapor. I use VPN on my PC and my phone.

[Bytor]

My 2 cents, It is getting easier for people to get your information if you do any kind of business online. As said if the Feds want to find you they already have that info. If someone else wants to find you then they may have to work a little harder. Situational awareness is needed more these days, both online and off.

[MichaelLAX]

3 hours ago, Bytor said:

As said if the Feds want to find you they already have that info.

Not quite sure where all this paranoia about the Federal Government comes from, but the events since the presidential election of 2020 show that election workers have more to fear from being Dox'ed by anti-government activists than the other way around:

Attacks Against Election Officials are taking a Toll

[73blazer]

On 9/14/2022 at 9:38 PM, WRUK284 said:

Simply run a VPN and your PC is vapor. I use VPN on my PC and my phone.

I would respectfully disagree with this. I'm not quite sure how this VPN thing became a thing. It provides zero extra security.  Your just changing your endpoint from IP x.x.x.x to different endpoint ip y.y.y.y. All while adding latency (read performance) .  As stated before pinpoint accuracy from an IP is kinda dead since the dial up days, all they can usually discern is a general location or area or city or state or in the case of stralink all they can tell is what continent your in.

If you want proof of this clear your cookies log off of everything and deny google access to your gps if your devices has it (or mabey  just pull up a different browser) and pull up maps.google.com. See where it shows you, they attempt to put the initial map on the place where they think you are and they spent alot of time and money to try to figure it out. If they can discern your address that map will be over your house.  If your logged off of everything and cleared your cache and cookies they have nothing else to go by and will attempt to discern from just your IP. Usually it shows me a place about 200mi froim my house, the address of my ISP's main office where the IP's are registered.  When I'm on starlink in a different spot it shows me the north american continent  us and canada.

And I would argue a VPN service makes you less secure.

When you use a VPN your now letting yet another third party view all your activity since it has to be routed through it ... and lets not forget about all their third party developers,admins etc,  likely in Singapore and korea and india access to everything you do on the interweb. In addition to that these services require an application to be downloaded and installed on your device, that application will have alot more access to your devices innards than a web browser will let you have. And while you may think your activity is "encrypted" from them, if they're providing the encryption for the tunnel then they're providing the decryption  cert at the endpoint where your traffic has to be given to the general interweb...so that provides nothing to shield from them. Your just literally giving all your info activity, searches, etc... to yet another party.

 

About the only valid reason I could see for using a VPN is to get your endpoint in another country where the netflix or whatever streaming service you use will allow you to access programs available only in those places.