What's in an IP address anyway? I have a stat counter. It not only keeps track on how many hits I get, but it also keep track on where people are coming from, with their IP address. But it's limited. For instance, my IP address puts me in New Jersey. I actually live in Vermont. When Adelphia owned the cable, it placed me in Rutland Vermont, which is much closer - about 17 miles away from where I actually live.
Some IP locations are blocked or unlisted.. I will sometimes get an IP address that doesn't have a location or even a location that has a "blocked IP address.
So why am I telling you this? Because I'm amazed on how many people get "weirded out" by the fact that if their IP address is known, than they *will* get hacked or tracked down right to their computer.
While this is possible, most hackers have better things to do, like hack a "secure server" in one of our Government agencies - just for the fun of it.
Usually the problem lies with "crackers" and "script kiddies" who don't use IP addresses at all, but rather a script that will try every combination of characters in a password sign in page online. This is why some sites will only let you try to sign on three times before locking you out for a time limit.
Typically, a script will use up to a set number of characters. I think the highest out there is 21, but I'm not sure. This is why it is important to have a very long password that is alphanumeric. A good idea would be to use the date you made the password, the first three letters of your pet's name, birthdate of someone you know, and your initials or your mother's initials.
What's more, you should have a DIFFERENT password for each account. The cracker might actually try your blog account first, which contains your email address, which may contain info on other accounts you signed up for. Of course, all it would take is to request a password from known accounts and it gets sent to your email address, the very one the cracker now has access to.
But I digress...
You can play on other's fear: The fear of being "found out". The internet is pretty anonymous for the average user (who would take the time anyway?). This is why sometimes you get garbage in your comments. But what if you made the "attacker" think that he wasn't so anonymous? Some tricks that are as old as windows 3.1 (actually, they may be older, but that's when I found out about them).
Unfortunately, I'm out of time. It's late and I have to get up with the kids tomorrow. Later on tomorrow, when it gets too hot to work, I'll post a demonstration. :)
Some IP locations are blocked or unlisted.. I will sometimes get an IP address that doesn't have a location or even a location that has a "blocked IP address.
So why am I telling you this? Because I'm amazed on how many people get "weirded out" by the fact that if their IP address is known, than they *will* get hacked or tracked down right to their computer.
While this is possible, most hackers have better things to do, like hack a "secure server" in one of our Government agencies - just for the fun of it.
Usually the problem lies with "crackers" and "script kiddies" who don't use IP addresses at all, but rather a script that will try every combination of characters in a password sign in page online. This is why some sites will only let you try to sign on three times before locking you out for a time limit.
Typically, a script will use up to a set number of characters. I think the highest out there is 21, but I'm not sure. This is why it is important to have a very long password that is alphanumeric. A good idea would be to use the date you made the password, the first three letters of your pet's name, birthdate of someone you know, and your initials or your mother's initials.
What's more, you should have a DIFFERENT password for each account. The cracker might actually try your blog account first, which contains your email address, which may contain info on other accounts you signed up for. Of course, all it would take is to request a password from known accounts and it gets sent to your email address, the very one the cracker now has access to.
But I digress...
You can play on other's fear: The fear of being "found out". The internet is pretty anonymous for the average user (who would take the time anyway?). This is why sometimes you get garbage in your comments. But what if you made the "attacker" think that he wasn't so anonymous? Some tricks that are as old as windows 3.1 (actually, they may be older, but that's when I found out about them).
Unfortunately, I'm out of time. It's late and I have to get up with the kids tomorrow. Later on tomorrow, when it gets too hot to work, I'll post a demonstration. :)
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