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What your IP address reveals about you
Q. I occasionally post to an online gaming forum. Recently I was helping a new member with a problem. I corrected some erroneous advice from a forum moderator. Shortly afterward, the moderator sent me a message that said, "Yeah, we're watching you." I'm concerned, as he knows my IP address. Could he use it to break into my computer? He seemed somewhat malicious. If you have thoughts on this I would appreciate hearing them. Thank you very much for your show!
A. Welcome to the wonderful world of Internet forums, Carl. It's not surprising that you've run into a power-hungry moderator. The real surprise is that it hasn't happened sooner.
Many forums have at least one moderator on a power trip. Incidentally, my Message Board does not have this problem. Both the moderators and members are friendly and helpful.
I should explain what is going on for those who don't use forums. A forum is an online place for community interaction. Users post problems and get help. Or they can engage in conversation on many topics.
As with any public gathering, forums usually have a few troublemakers. Plus, they tend to attract undesirables like spammers. This can turn people off from using a forum. That's why most forums have moderators. Moderators police the forum. They make sure everyone plays nice. And they can warn or ban users who don't follow the rules.
Every forum gets moderators in different ways. A business forum will have employees do the moderating, for example. Hobby forums usually select users to help moderate. These will usually be long-time users who appear to be responsible. Or they may just have free time on their hands.
The digital world is just like the real world. In some cases, it is even worse. And giving people power in the real world is always a gamble. The potential for abuse is always there.
The digital world is no different. Some people just can't handle being in control. The power goes straight to their heads. And the anonymous nature of online interaction can make it worse.
But sometimes there is an alternative explanation. Let's not forget that forum communication is text-based. And text-based communication is incredibly easy to misunderstand. There are no non-verbal cues to help out. Some studies put the probability of online miscommunication at about 80 percent.
You think you wrote a perfectly find post. But someone else may read it completely differently and take offense. Maybe the moderator was just doing his job. But you don't realize why you were warned. To you the post was fine.
If miscommunication could be a factor, try apologizing. It can keep the situation from spinning out of control. Of course, you can also ask what sparked the warning. That can help you avoid this situation in the future.
But what if this is a power-trip scenario? What can a power-mad moderator actually do? That depends on what he can see.
First of all, moderators can see your forum profile. And any information you have posted to the forum is fair game. Hopefully you aren't posting too much personal information.
Moderators can typically see your computer's IP address. The IP address is what identifies you online. Every computer broadcasts one. Find out what you reveal online and how to protect yourself.
There is a reason forums collect IP addresses. Moderators can ban a troublemaker by locking his account. But that doesn't always stop the troublemaker from coming back. He can just create a new account. So for serious troublemakers like spammers, moderators use IP address blocking.
That keeps a troublemaker from making any new accounts from known computers. There are ways around it. But it's usually more trouble than it's worth.
Knowing your IP address does give a malicious person an advantage. He knows the location of your computer online. That makes it easy to launch an attack against you.
However, any decent firewall will stop a direct attack these days. That's what they're designed to do, after all. If you don't have a firewall installed, you absolutely should. Download a free firewall and other security programs from my Security Center now.
You have additional protection if you're on a network behind a router. The IP address being broadcast is the router's address. A hacker would have to get through the router to attack you.
Also, most residential IP addresses are reassigned regularly. Restarting your modem could force it to change. Once it changes, stay away from the forum. The moderator can't get your new IP address if you don't log in.
The exception is if you have a static IP connection. These are usually reserved for businesses, though. They cost more per month. It is doubtful you have one.
I would worry more about phishing attacks. The moderator will likely have your e-mail address. He could send you viruses in an official-looking e-mail. That would be more damaging to your system in the long run.
Or he could try to hack your e-mail account by guessing your password. He might even be able to answer your security questions. That would let him cause some damage. Learn how to deal with a hacked e-mail account.
However, that is unlikely to happen. You could easily complain to other forum moderators or the forum owner. With enough proof, the moderator could get banned himself.
If there is evidence of hacking, you should involve the police. The forum owner will have the moderator's IP address as well. It wouldn't be too hard for them to track him down. Click here to learn how to report online scams and crimes.
Tracking people online isn't as difficult as you think. Learn how to protect yourself:
A lot of your personal information is stored in online databases. Find out what others can see about you.
Getting a targeted e-mail from someone you don’t know is creepy. Learn how the sender might have gotten your information.
Tracking someone isn't always a bad thing. Get details on tracking someone to protect a loved one.
Komando.com, Website for The Kim Komando Radio Show®, Komando Toolbox
Q. I occasionally post to an online gaming forum. Recently I was helping a new member with a problem. I corrected some erroneous advice from a forum moderator. Shortly afterward, the moderator sent me a message that said, "Yeah, we're watching you." I'm concerned, as he knows my IP address. Could he use it to break into my computer? He seemed somewhat malicious. If you have thoughts on this I would appreciate hearing them. Thank you very much for your show!
A. Welcome to the wonderful world of Internet forums, Carl. It's not surprising that you've run into a power-hungry moderator. The real surprise is that it hasn't happened sooner.
Many forums have at least one moderator on a power trip. Incidentally, my Message Board does not have this problem. Both the moderators and members are friendly and helpful.
I should explain what is going on for those who don't use forums. A forum is an online place for community interaction. Users post problems and get help. Or they can engage in conversation on many topics.
As with any public gathering, forums usually have a few troublemakers. Plus, they tend to attract undesirables like spammers. This can turn people off from using a forum. That's why most forums have moderators. Moderators police the forum. They make sure everyone plays nice. And they can warn or ban users who don't follow the rules.
Every forum gets moderators in different ways. A business forum will have employees do the moderating, for example. Hobby forums usually select users to help moderate. These will usually be long-time users who appear to be responsible. Or they may just have free time on their hands.
The digital world is just like the real world. In some cases, it is even worse. And giving people power in the real world is always a gamble. The potential for abuse is always there.
The digital world is no different. Some people just can't handle being in control. The power goes straight to their heads. And the anonymous nature of online interaction can make it worse.
But sometimes there is an alternative explanation. Let's not forget that forum communication is text-based. And text-based communication is incredibly easy to misunderstand. There are no non-verbal cues to help out. Some studies put the probability of online miscommunication at about 80 percent.
You think you wrote a perfectly find post. But someone else may read it completely differently and take offense. Maybe the moderator was just doing his job. But you don't realize why you were warned. To you the post was fine.
If miscommunication could be a factor, try apologizing. It can keep the situation from spinning out of control. Of course, you can also ask what sparked the warning. That can help you avoid this situation in the future.
But what if this is a power-trip scenario? What can a power-mad moderator actually do? That depends on what he can see.
First of all, moderators can see your forum profile. And any information you have posted to the forum is fair game. Hopefully you aren't posting too much personal information.
Moderators can typically see your computer's IP address. The IP address is what identifies you online. Every computer broadcasts one. Find out what you reveal online and how to protect yourself.
There is a reason forums collect IP addresses. Moderators can ban a troublemaker by locking his account. But that doesn't always stop the troublemaker from coming back. He can just create a new account. So for serious troublemakers like spammers, moderators use IP address blocking.
That keeps a troublemaker from making any new accounts from known computers. There are ways around it. But it's usually more trouble than it's worth.
Knowing your IP address does give a malicious person an advantage. He knows the location of your computer online. That makes it easy to launch an attack against you.
However, any decent firewall will stop a direct attack these days. That's what they're designed to do, after all. If you don't have a firewall installed, you absolutely should. Download a free firewall and other security programs from my Security Center now.
You have additional protection if you're on a network behind a router. The IP address being broadcast is the router's address. A hacker would have to get through the router to attack you.
Also, most residential IP addresses are reassigned regularly. Restarting your modem could force it to change. Once it changes, stay away from the forum. The moderator can't get your new IP address if you don't log in.
The exception is if you have a static IP connection. These are usually reserved for businesses, though. They cost more per month. It is doubtful you have one.
I would worry more about phishing attacks. The moderator will likely have your e-mail address. He could send you viruses in an official-looking e-mail. That would be more damaging to your system in the long run.
Or he could try to hack your e-mail account by guessing your password. He might even be able to answer your security questions. That would let him cause some damage. Learn how to deal with a hacked e-mail account.
However, that is unlikely to happen. You could easily complain to other forum moderators or the forum owner. With enough proof, the moderator could get banned himself.
If there is evidence of hacking, you should involve the police. The forum owner will have the moderator's IP address as well. It wouldn't be too hard for them to track him down. Click here to learn how to report online scams and crimes.
Tracking people online isn't as difficult as you think. Learn how to protect yourself:
A lot of your personal information is stored in online databases. Find out what others can see about you.
Getting a targeted e-mail from someone you don’t know is creepy. Learn how the sender might have gotten your information.
Tracking someone isn't always a bad thing. Get details on tracking someone to protect a loved one.
Komando.com, Website for The Kim Komando Radio Show®, Komando Toolbox
