artembourov Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 well, i was going to make this just a question post, but i decided this was a more interesting start :) I wanted to know how secure i am on the interenet in regards to government agencies tracking my activity and the activity of my computer! On some IRC channels i saw admin post that "if you are government agent you have no right to exert your power here or you will be violating privacy act xyz". Does this apply to all sectors of the internet? I mean, on Kazaa, and other file-sharing programs, are you truly anonymous. If random websites can log your IP, cant a file sharing program like Kazaa? I am living in australia, so the laws would be a bit different, but i am still interested to know what my rights are! (p.s. i may or may not be under the age of 18:>) :ninja: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keldyn Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Uh oh! Tin foil hats at the ready!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypoxiaicon Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I'm sure they have better things to do. Like to catch crackers & such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted June 17, 2004 Veteran Share Posted June 17, 2004 Here's the deal. The Governments aren't tracking Everybody, however they are tracking Everybody who does or goes to certain places. So am I safe on the internet from the prying eyes of the government? Yes I am. I've gone to no muslim extremist sites, no sites that show how to make bombs, no drug trafficking sites, I don't go to criminal IRC channells, I don't use words in my email that would set Echelon off, I have no warez on my PC, basically I'm not worried about anyone, whether that be the government, riaa or mpaa. Now are You safe on the iinternet? Hell if I know. Chances are if you went to a web site/downloaded something/chat room that you think the government or another 3rd party might monitor, then no you're probably not safe because yes they probably monitor it, have monitored it, or will when they can get around to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stilist Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 With Kazaa lite, you can use extensions to view the IP of the source node you're downloading from. It's available within the details of the download information thingy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shannon Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I don't see why they would bother tracking the entire internet (for a start it would be next to impossible, with hundreds of new sites popping up every day) and a big slice of it is perfectly legal. The only sections of the internet I could see them showing any interest towards would be the shady grey area of "warez" and cracks. But you never know, the NSA or whatever can always turn into the RIAA and go on a royal mission to **** everyone off... :whistle: And as far as I know, P2P apps don't log your IP. They do make it publicly available for anyone to snatch up, but that is really the last thing on mind (with a hardware NAT firewall and all)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted June 17, 2004 Veteran Share Posted June 17, 2004 And as far as I know, P2P apps don't log your IP. They do make it publicly available for anyone to snatch up, but that is really the last thing on mind (with a hardware NAT firewall and all)... Dude NAT doesn't protect you from that at all. Infact your NAT firewalls IP is your real IP after all, the IP's the Nat doesn't give out are internal IP's, so you are still just as visible as everyone else on the internet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I'm sure if I started going to lots of Terrorism sites, IRC channels known by the NSA and searching google for bomb making kits I would be tracked. But I would expect that to happen, and would feel better that it was being done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bizkit Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Why would they track me going to Neowin and my donkey porn sites? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artembourov Posted June 17, 2004 Author Share Posted June 17, 2004 I have a solid SnapGear firewall box, connected to my router and cable modem. On my laptop i have WinXP SP2 firewall, and on my desktop i have McAfee Internet Security 6 Personall Firewall Plus. now, this should make me immune to intruders, right? even if i was to have a warez program for some reason? Not that i'm trying to find out if i can get away with a cracked serial, but more importantly i want to know that the RIAA isnt tracing me, (even though i'm in australia)! I mean, if government agencies can track and hack into my pc, then other people can as well! and that demolishes the point of spending several hundred dollars on the firewall box and software! But more importnantly, i wanted to know what rights i have on the internet. As in, can i be traced legally for downloading stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mAcOdIn Veteran Posted June 17, 2004 Veteran Share Posted June 17, 2004 (edited) You have to understand one thing. To download anything on the internet you have to have an sending address and a recieving address. So if you actually 100% masked your IP than whatever you were trying to download would not know where to send it. So complete anonyminity on the internet is impossible. Unless you've hacked into some poor guys proxy server and are using him as a proxy than no matter what you have between your cable modem and your computer does not hide your IP address. And even if you did this they can still track you. Edit: So yes the RIAA can watch you easily, but I don't know what Australia's citizens rights are in regards to music piracy. As of yet I haven't heard of an Australian citizen getting sued, but rest assured the Australien branch of the RIAA is trying to get the laws passed that it needs to do the same thing there as they did in the US. Your free ride will end I just can't tell you when. Edited June 17, 2004 by mAcOdIn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MxxCon Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 On some IRC channels i saw admin post that "if you are government agent you have no right to exert your power here or you will be violating privacy act xyz". Does this apply to all sectors of the internet? I mean, on Kazaa, and other file-sharing programs, are you truly anonymous. If random websites can log your IP, cant a file sharing program like Kazaa? that quote your admin posted is a complete bull****. it's like thinking if you walk into a store to rob it and before doing it you say "law enforcement agencies do not apply to me becuase of privacy act xyz". i'm sure you'll make nightly news after that...not becuae you got away with a crime but becuase you are a moron thinking that there is some "privacy act" that allows to break the law. read http://www.snopes.com/legal/privacy.htm Claim: Citing "code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act" protects web site operators from prosecution.Status: False. Example: If you are affiliated with any government, anti-piracy group or any other related group, or were formally a worker of one you CANNOT enter this web site, cannot access any of its files and you cannot view any of the HTML files. If you enter this site you are not agreeing to these terms and you are violating code 431.322.12 of the Internet Privacy Act signed by Bill Clinton in 1995 and that means that you CANNOT threaten our ISP(s) or any person(s) or company storing these files, and cannot prosecute any person(s) affiliated with this page which includes family, friends or individuals who run or enter this web site. Origins: The passage quoted above, or variants thereof, can be found on thousands of web sites (particularly those that traffic in pirated software, music, and He's lying! films), placed there in the misguided belief that it actually provides web site operators protection against being prosecuted for engaging in illegal, Internet-related activities. As a legal strategem, it's just as flawed as the widely-believed notion that prostitutes and drug dealers can foil the efforts of undercover cops simply by asking them flat out "Are you a cop?" under the mistaken assumption that law enforcement officers cannot lie about their status (and if they do, the bust will be thrown out of court as a case of "entrapment"). As to the specifics of this dubious disclaimer, President Clinton signed no "Internet Privacy Act" in 1995, and existing federal privacy protections applicable to the world of cyberspace generally govern the collection and dissemination of personal information (such as medical records) via the Internet. Federal privacy laws don't serve to provide those who break laws in the on-line world with protection from prosecution should their illegal cyber-activities be uncovered by law enforcement officials visiting their web sites. kazaa is not anonymous. the only truelly anonymous network is freenet, where it is simply impossible to monitor what you are transfering i can garantee you 100% that majority of p2p network do, or at least can log ip addresses and other communications. obviously they won't acknoledge that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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