IP Tracking

[Firedemon]

Not too sure if I should post this here in General, or in Tech, but a mod can move it if needed.

So a long story short, my best friend has had an ongoing battle with this unknown person over MSN and through email for the last couple years. This person knows his deep dark secrets and every detail of every event that only I know because we're close like that. Anyways, the messages and emails have stopped for like 6 months now, but they started up again last night. Now it's gotten to the point where this unknown person is now jeopardizing his marraige and shit, and he's pretty stressed out over it.

My question is, is there any way to track an IP address through MSN/hotmail to find where the messages/emails are coming from? I've said for the longest time to him that it could be his wife fucking with him, and if it actually is, a simple IP check will prove it.

If that doesn't work, I guess he could go into FireFox options and have it save passwords so he can log into her account himself....but that might be crossing the line a bit.

[Jefe]

The headers from emails won't give you any relevant information. Since the individual is bothering your friend through msn, is there a way you can trick the person to accept a file?

If you manage to trick them to accept a file big enough (prolly more than 1 mg), open cmd and type netstat and it will show you the connections open. If what I'm saying doesn't sound familiar, just google netstant so you can familiarize yourself w/ it to recognize the ips. Hell, you might find tutorials.

Edit: Another way is if you have a tracker and trick them to visit an x website (such as myspace). It will give you their provider's IP range or their actual IP (I haven't checked in a while) ;x

[Firedemon]

Hmmm....I like that idea of checking your open connections through cmd. I'm pretty much gonna copy and paste this to him, he can read up on it himself. I appreciate the help here.

[The Stig]

This is a particularly wierd scenario. I'm not being funny but rather, to find out more, have you and your friend ever considered ignoring/not replying to this person's e-mails? How did this unknown person get to know all this details, or is your friend a bit naive about the internet?

[Blaghna]

What's an Internet?

[alabamahotpocket]

Sending messages with e-mail is like sending a postcard with regular mail. Everyone can read your message. Most people use envelopes to send private letters, but almost nobody uses PGP to encrypt their e-mails, even tho its been freely available to everyone since middle of 90's.

You can read more about PGP here: Pretty Good Privacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Firedemon]

This is a particularly wierd scenario. I'm not being funny but rather, to find out more, have you and your friend ever considered ignoring/not replying to this person's e-mails? How did this unknown person get to know all this details, or is your friend a bit naive about the internet?

Ya, he has ignored them once before, but the messages just kept coming in and it started to really get to him. He never really talks to anyone online aside from a few close friends, and I'm the only one that knows shit about him that nobody else does. He's a 250 pound Portugese man, so he's not really the type of guy you'd want to piss off, so we really don't understand the motives behind it.

As far as the details go, they knew what his wife was wearing one day she went downtown shopping, to knowing what kind of sandwich he ate at my house one night when my friends and I were drinking. He and myself sat down one night and went through every one of my friends that were around to see if shit matched up. Like who fucking remembers what kind of sandwich someone eats 2 months later? The most fucked up thing is, is that this person knows who he cheated with 4 years ago, and I'm the ONLY person who knows about this.

I can see why this is stressing him out. Like I mean he's got a second kid on the way, works like a dog, and comes home to relax to find this shit in his email inbox.

[Shuemue]

He's sending them to himself.

[guartz]

Maybe you have a multiple personality disorder and it's you who is sending these letters.

[Seraph]

Make several new email addresses and MSN names. Give a different one to each friend, do not let them know it isn't the only new one. Abandon original email address and MSN name. Wait to see where the harassment comes from.

Now you know who is dicking with him. Easy.

[guartz]

or he's playing a practical joke on you, or he is himself crazy like Shuemue suggests

[MrW]

The most fucked up thing is, is that this person knows who he cheated with 4 years ago, and I'm the ONLY person who knows about this.

Unless he cheated with you it seems like TWO people would know how he cheated with. If it isn't you and it isn't him then it could be ...

[Firedemon]

Why would he be playing a practical joke on me that's been going on for 2+ years? It would serve no purpose because it doesn't really affect me any. I have seen the emails/MSN conversations, so I know it's not bullshit. Even if it was a joke, who would the joke be on?

Unless he cheated with you it seems like TWO people would know how he cheated with. If it isn't you and it isn't him then it could be ...

Ya, but even if it was this chick, she doesn't know details that went on at my house, so it kinda ruled her out. It's almost like his wife is telling another person what to write so she doesn't get caught doing it.

[The Stig]

Keylog his wife's PC. Assuming his wife isn't working (pregnant) or working considerably less.

[Cjskater]

Well using common sense: It could be somebody who lives near him, neighbor across the street possibly. Could explain how he knew he was cheating, how he knew what he ate, how he knew what his wife wore, etc.

My advice would be to somehow attract the stalker's attention, have a small get together or something, and see which neighbor is the creepiest.

[Mizango]

Keylog his wife's PC. Assuming his wife isn't working (pregnant) or working considerably less.

^

IP tracking is an interesting prospect indeed. Ill send you some ideas in game that may help you out if need be lol.

Self incrimination, nah dawg.

[Cephius]

I'm not sure what you plan to do with the guy's IP, but it's pretty useless. Tracing IPs will just give you the name and address of the ISP. All it'll do is give you the (relative) location of where the guy is. Not much help, IMO, and ISPs don't release names and addresses of their customers unless presented with a court order to do so.

tl;dr enjoy pinging his IP, that's about all you'll be able to do with it. Find a different way to figure out who it is

[The Stig]

Ask 4chan for help maybe?

Kidding aside, search up that e-mail via facebook. Or google.

[Purrrfect]

Maybe you have a multiple personality disorder and it's you who is sending these letters.

Fucking stole my answer ><.

Kinda like a RL version of UST

[Firedemon]

See, with the IP address, the general area might be enough to figure out who the hell it is. All our friends are scattered across Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario. If the IP address can be tracked down to at least the city, we'd have a pretty damn good idea who it is.