Cookies, Spyware, Multiple ID's and the Internet...

#1

Quoted from the OLA forum:

"And I never had multiple id's on any site, and if I did how would they know? The only way I know is they would have to put a tracking cookie on your computer and that's considered spyware."

First, let's clear up complete misinformation: placing a cookie on your computer is not spyware.

Cookies can be removed by the owner of the computer. Most are placed on your computer for your convenience making it easier to log in and even allows sites to remember remember certain account settings.

Spyware, on the other hand, is a small program installed on your computer without your knowledge. It's delivery is very much like a trojan horse. You agree to install a legitimate program and a little bundle of software is delivered without your consent. The software can serve advertising based on searches or websites you visit, dialers can be installed, malicious personal info grabbing software can be installed.

There's a huge difference between a cookie and spyware.

Now to the question "And I never had multiple id's on any site, and if I did how would they know?"

When you visit or log onto a site, your IP address is recorded. If you're on dial-up, your IP address changes frequently but you will remain in a consistent block. If you're on a persistent connection, such as cable or satellite, your IP address doesn't change frequently - mine hasn't changed in almost 2 years.

Each person on the internet has a unique IP address. An IP address is a numeric fingerprint. This is the way pedophiles are tracked, SPAMMERS are caught and convicted, and even that 40 y/o woman from MySpace who opened an account on the pretense of being another teen and has since been charged for harassing a young woman until she killed herself.

Everything you do online leaves an electronic fingerprint. Given 30 seconds and your IP address, your location can be determined within a 50 mile radius. With just a little more time, you location can be narrowed to blocks, and with some persistence it's even possible to drill down to your physical address. I know people who can crawl right up your IP and into your computer, it's illegal - which is just enough incentive to keep me from trying it!

BTW, each and every computer has a unique fingerprint. An IP address along w/ your computer fingerprint is enough for a conviction and jail time. How do people think Microsoft finds your computer to "magically" installs updates or verify software serial numbers?

As to how the multiple IDs were discovered. When you run a website, the hosting software provides stats for your site visitors, which, among other things, includes your unique IP address. When you run forum software, you are provided additional stats, including your unique IP address - now you've been double verified. Further, your movements are tracked and time stamped.

It's simply a matter of looking at your visitor records to find who logged in with which IP address to determine who is using more than one identity. It's not spyware. It's the way the internet is structured and the way every forum is set up.

Webmasters have an array of information on visitors. When someone engages in illegal activity via a website law enforcement subpoenas records.

This is the way the internet works. If you want to bend and break policies and lie to people, ya' first gotta' know the rules, then ya' gotta' remember your lies.

Remembering Your Lies

I noted a statement that one of the phony OLA member IDs made as being similar to the statement of another member. The phony ID was new (only 6 posts) and had never made that statement. I notified mods and pointed to the two threads. My conclusion was absolutely incorrect. IP addresses were compared and the phony ID was buyer111us's IP address - not the innocent member who'd made a similar statement.

I avoided a lot of problems and hard feelings by letting the appropriate people deal with the issue. The admin and mods of this forum have access to facts that can not be altered. Facts that cut right through lies.

In Conclusion

When folks at OLA believe someone is making trouble on their forums, ask your Mods/Admin to check IP addresses for multiple ID's before you make accusations - you might be shocked to discover where a tremendous amount of the disruption on your forum is coming from.

When I stated that the "Enemy is in the house." at OLA, I was referring to people who are pretending to be something that they are not...friends of OLA.

#2

The IP doesn't lie!

Wonderful description, though those that choose not to understand will always insist they're right I'm afraid. No arguing with some.

#3

@ LurkeyLou

From a non technical orientated computer user, thanks for the very understandable explanation!

#4

Yes, thank you for taking the time to explain the IP address facts @ LurkeyLou.

That was very informative!

#5

An enjoyable read for me... Thanks Lou! I look forward to learning who is playing what game, but in a pinch I bet I could guess. Smile

#6

Great post - thank you.

#7

Thank you LurkeyLou great explanation. Obviously the person that said "And I never had multiple id's on any site, and if I did how would they know? The only way I know is they would have to put a tracking cookie on your computer and that's considered spyware." needs to some simple research before the accuse a site of spyware.

Every site you go on the internet you leave your ip. If you want to know your ip goto http://whatismyip.com/

#8

Dear Buyer111us,

Claiming that your WIFI was hi-jacked isn't a good enough lie. It would mean that the person hi-jacking it knows InnerPuppie, and I find that highly unlikely. Additionally, a roving hi-jacker would not waste time using your system for anonymous questions and threats that have been associated with your email address. Try again... no one's buying it.

#9

Thanks, everyone. Glad to be of help.

Nice explanation on the IP addy page, psunite.

**#10**

CuFF wrote (View Post): › Dear Buyer111us,

Claiming that your WIFI was hi-jacked isn't a good enough lie. It would mean that the person hi-jacking it knows InnerPuppie, and I find that highly unlikely. Additionally, a roving hi-jacker would not waste time using your system for anonymous questions and threats that have been associated with your email address. Try again... no one's buying it.

Oh, yeah, CuFF, I saw that...it would be beyond bizarre to break federal laws and do less than go after banking, investment and private infos. I wouldn't worry about scrubbing the hard drive - I'd be on the phone w/ authorities and arranging forensics for the system....and closing accounts as fast as I could. I guess that post makes sense to someone, so long as they don't have a clue.

**#11**

I wonder if that wonderfully clear explanation is the reason buyer111us later, apparently, tried to use (?)proxy servers(?) to try and appear to be logging in from various countries? Yet psunite caught that behavior yet again. However, I suspect the game is continuing to this day... Amazing how much havoc one dedicated troublemaker can cause. And I agree that the troublemaker is NOT a friend of OLA no matter how much they may have pretended to be at one time... They even seem to take delight in suckering other people into believing that some have said things they never said and seem to be causing bleed-over of negative attitudes onto people who have not been involved in their vendettas before being targeted, for whatever havoc that can cause.

**#12**

I found this in one of the forums on OLA. It was written by Purple_reading_giraffe. I think it is just to cause more trouble for us. Mad

What proof do you have purple that this is being done now?

o brightgems especially (in response to above post), but all of you generally - be warned that I have seen ample evidence while catching up over at PSU that a lot of shenanigans appear to have been going on. I have seen that some folks have impersonated other people, have pretended to be pro-OLA specifically to make OLA members appear stupid or worse, and have generally been using every possible underhanded tactic to undermine reasonable people's efforts to have reasonable discussions. The effect seems to be cleverly designed to spill over onto innocent bystanders and to get them embroiled in arguments based on misunderstandings and an enhancement of ill-feelings wherever possible.

I cannot say for sure if the motive is a desire to have "fun" at the expense of others, a desire to "get back" at OLA for "broken promises", or a desire to undermine OLA for some other reason. I caution you to be especially suspicious at any time that your feelings become involved, as extremely difficult as that may be. I too have fallen victim to this type of "trollish" behavior, and I know how very easy it can be. Just really keep in mind that a person may believe the exact opposite of what they appear to be saying and are only saying it so they can come back with a different ID and say the opposite just for the purpose of creating dissension where there may have been none without them.

I am especially distressed that this behavior by a select few has managed to give PSU a bad name despite the efforts of several to make it stop. I wish to emphasize that some may use PSU as a tool for their purposes, but the bad feelings they are able to inflame should not be perceived as being condoned by PSU members as a whole. Again be wary of trickery and of letting the perception of a group being "against you" spill over onto relations with others who may post in the same thread. It can be quite confusing at times, but that is the goal of the "trolls" whose agenda appears to be dissension more than anything.

Keep up the good work, and don't let the bad vibes get you down.

Oh, PS, do please come vote in two recently created PSU polls if you haven't already. You don't even have to say a word - polls are utterly anonymous. Very Happy

**#13**

naturelover5676 wrote (View Post): › I found this in one of the forums on OLA. It was written by Purple_reading_giraffe. I think it is just to cause more trouble for us. Mad

What proof do you have purple that this is being done now?

o brightgems especially (in response to above post), but all of you generally - be warned that I have seen ample evidence while catching up over at PSU that a lot of shenanigans appear to have been going on. I have seen that some folks have impersonated other people, have pretended to be pro-OLA specifically to make OLA members appear stupid or worse, and have generally been using every possible underhanded tactic to undermine reasonable people's efforts to have reasonable discussions. The effect seems to be cleverly designed to spill over onto innocent bystanders and to get them embroiled in arguments based on misunderstandings and an enhancement of ill-feelings wherever possible.

I cannot say for sure if the motive is a desire to have "fun" at the expense of others, a desire to "get back" at OLA for "broken promises", or a desire to undermine OLA for some other reason. I caution you to be especially suspicious at any time that your feelings become involved, as extremely difficult as that may be. I too have fallen victim to this type of "trollish" behavior, and I know how very easy it can be. Just really keep in mind that a person may believe the exact opposite of what they appear to be saying and are only saying it so they can come back with a different ID and say the opposite just for the purpose of creating dissension where there may have been none without them.

I am especially distressed that this behavior by a select few has managed to give PSU a bad name despite the efforts of several to make it stop. I wish to emphasize that some may use PSU as a tool for their purposes, but the bad feelings they are able to inflame should not be perceived as being condoned by PSU members as a whole. Again be wary of trickery and of letting the perception of a group being "against you" spill over onto relations with others who may post in the same thread. It can be quite confusing at times, but that is the goal of the "trolls" whose agenda appears to be dissension more than anything.

Keep up the good work, and don't let the bad vibes get you down.

Oh, PS, do please come vote in two recently created PSU polls if you haven't already. You don't even have to say a word - polls are utterly anonymous. Very Happy

Hey Nature, don't worry about this stuff. It's just someone who blames others for things they do themselves. It's the OLA way, trying to turn legitimate claims of those of us who have been screwed by OLA into looking like "negativity". Same ol, same ol manipulative tactics. Yawn.

Talk about taking it to a personal level! The polls? The "trolls"? Hey look, I made a rhyme. Laughing

The polls, the trolls, and manipulative goals! Laughing

We're here to talk about OLA and to warn others. Not to deal with more cheerleaders who try to make us look like fools. Let's just continue our conversations and ignore them. Their goal is to intimidate others, and I for one am really finding it humorous! Laughing

Now we can go back to our proper threads. Wink

We know the truth, Nature. Like they said themselves: Keep up the good work, and don't let the bad vibes get you down.

**#14**

Love the rhyme! Laughing

**#15**

Ditto -- great rhyme Pinto and good point too! I hope no one reads this that doesn't want to see my name here. I'm wearing a mask today -- getting ready for Halloween.