The_Angel 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2005 I moderate one site and I feel something wrong is happening.I've been collecting some IPs of certain people there and I have a doubt. May a person use a proxy server and be logged there as two different people and they can be online at the same time? One of the IPs of two different people are equal. I'm not able to trace most of their IPs and when I can do it, the location is completely different. So, I think they've been using a proxy.Can you guys help me? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saint_Michael 3 Report post Posted September 15, 2005 well ip is tricky since alot of people use the same ip number to the point where a number or 2 are off but only if you really look, but yeah it is possible to use a proxy and then log on 2 differnt accounts. but its more complicated then i can tell you the best bet is to look at email addresses and see if they are bogus.but tracing an ip number is not free to the point where you want the original location. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OCAC 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2005 well I have two telephone lines and a broadband, I could conceivably have three different accounts with different supplieres and if I still had isdn (not poss with my Broadband setting, but i could have cable) I could be connected to three different providers, providing me with three different dynamic IP's. I am typing this on my PC, while my music plays on my eMac, my wifes computer is in the living room. So no problem with that setting. The questions would be why? It is a little bit of an effort? she coud also be connected via her mobilephone, opening up a different possibilitiy there.I would say: ask, make it funny, like: have you all noticed, there is something funny with the IP going on here - really peculiar. You all seem to have the same IP, or I don't know.don't point your finger at the person you suspect, make it general. If he is malicious, he sees you are on his tracks, and might stop (or improve in disguising his tracks)Anyway just some random thoughts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hulunes 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2005 umm,you can check both exact IP to moderate them.certainly email address and named style to judge them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rvalkass 5 Report post Posted September 15, 2005 If two different people have the same IP there could be a few reasons. If they use the same IP and have dynamic IPs they they may have been assigned the same IP. This is incredibly unlikely.The more logical explanation of two users with the same IP is a network. If two IPs are identical then there could be two people at a school college, office etc, both visiting your site. They would then have the same IP and there is nothing to stop them. At my school for example, a proxy is used to allow the school to prevent access to certain sites. This gives a totally different location to the school when checked.I doubt anyone would go to the lengths of getting a proxy and setting up fake accounts unless they were getting something out of it. If you have noticed weird things happening then I would try and crack down on the problem, but if there is nothing out of the ordinary or any major problems then I don't see a point in tracking them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
round 0 Report post Posted September 15, 2005 but what if people are using ip faker. I mean if they are then tons of people can have the same ip. Not sure if it's still around though. My other question is why? Are you afraid that people are posting more than they should or doing something wrong.round. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The_Angel 0 Report post Posted September 16, 2005 First, I'd like to thank you guys for trying to help me.Apart from this problem of trying to prove there's one person with two different accounts, someone has logged in as the administrator and changed the title of one of the forums. I've read the topic someone made here about some forums vunerability. I'm almost sure who has been doing that but I don't know how to prove it.I'm not good at this stuff but I believe email address won't help. Once a person can have as many as he wants. I have 4 emails and I wouldn't use the same one if I had two different accounts. I believe the guy has more than one computer and dynamic IPs. I thought the fact that one of the IPs were exactly the same, it'd help me prove something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sangdukseo 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 if i were u, i'd just kick out the suspect users. O, and another thing, see when these 'two' users post. If they are the same person, chances are that the person is posting at the same time everytime the person posts. So that could be a way to figure out that the person is the same for two usernames. Just my thought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The_Angel 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 if i were u, i'd just kick out the suspect users. O, and another thing, see when these 'two' users post. If they are the same person, chances are that the person is posting at the same time everytime the person posts. So that could be a way to figure out that the person is the same for two usernames. Just my thought. 186675[/snapback] I'm glad I didn't do anything drastic. One problem has been solved. I just sent a scary PM to all the mods and administrator and one of the mods said he had changed the title of one of the forums. The other administrator had given him the power and none of us knew about it. Anyway, now I have to be careful about the other problem. The guy I think who has two accounts. I've been checking the time they post and I saw in one of their posts there were a few seconds difference. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dooga 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 It is not reliable to use the IP feature on most forums, because they do not know that people use proxies. For example, I've tried a proxy on my site before, and posting, and it just displays my proxy, not the actual ip. Some complicated forums might have a feature... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thablkpanda 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 You can tell if it's the same computer system, by planting a highly unique cookie. However that's vulnerable if they don't have cookies enabled, and etc. etc...There really is no way to be sure who a person is on the internet, that's really the beauty of it though, you can be a strong republican on one forum, and be a radical democrat on the other, just as an example.If you think something shady's going on, and we're dealing with a large forum that won't suffer the loss of one/two members, then IP ban them, and delete their accounts.If you're SURE something odd's going down, then I'd warn their ISP's and IP ban them, which will take more than a few seconds to shake off.Otherwise, all you can really do, is sit back and wait until something major happens- and you're 'sure' it's them, then you can yell @ the admins, other mods, and such, and say 'I told ya so'...In all luck, the cookie idea is really smart- use PHP to set a cookie, with a long, random string, and use PHP to send that user to another page where it will check for the cookie. However 'low down' that may be, it IS all for the better of the forums..Panda Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dymondgurl 0 Report post Posted September 17, 2005 It can be 2 different peopel using the same proxy. I know people who live in 2 different cities but use the same connection. Some people are being caring and helping there friends out and if the person is not creating mischief on your board what's the big deal. I mean what reason did the person give you to check there ip address to begin with. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The_Angel 0 Report post Posted September 18, 2005 It can be 2 different peopel using the same proxy. I know people who live in 2 different cities but use the same connection. Some people are being caring and helping there friends out and if the person is not creating mischief on your board what's the big deal. I mean what reason did the person give you to check there ip address to begin with. 186972[/snapback] This person has already made two different accounts. He said it wasn't him but the three accounts have the same IP. The administrator has banned the other two but I saw one of them came back. Well, it seems the guy has dynamic IP. Now I'm confused. I don't know whether he uses a proxy or he has been using different computers. About planting a cookie, I don't know how to do it. I've been searching for this matter, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dymondgurl 0 Report post Posted September 18, 2005 This person has already made two different accounts. He said it wasn't him but the three accounts have the same IP. The administrator has banned the other two but I saw one of them came back. Well, it seems the guy has dynamic IP. Now I'm confused. I don't know whether he uses a proxy or he has been using different computers. About planting a cookie, I don't know how to do it. I've been searching for this matter, though. 187064[/snapback] another admin from ym forum might be able to help you with this. I will talk to him about th eproblem tomorrow and see what he says. If he has a solution I will post it here for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The_Angel 0 Report post Posted September 19, 2005 another admin from ym forum might be able to help you with this. I will talk to him about th eproblem tomorrow and see what he says. If he has a solution I will post it here for you. 187076[/snapback] Thank you very much. I appreciate your help. I just had to ban one of them because he started to talk dirty and spam on the forums. Oh well. There were no mods or adms online and the guy had dynamic IP. This is the first time I ban someone. I had to ban him twice and I know he joined again. Is there an easy way to ban dynamic IP? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
