The internet is not anonymous

Doing stuff on the internet is not anonymous. So think before you do something stupid. The guy below printed a map, cut out a small piece and sent it to a reporter. He was caught by his dynamic IP.

• A true story about catching a serial killer I watched on TV last night.
  
• Killer sent a piece of a map showing the location of a victim (#17) to a reporter via US Mail.
• Reporter gave the map to the FBI.
• FBI determined map was printed on a computer from mapping software or from the internet.
• FBI compared map segment to every known piece of software and every internet mapping application.
• FBI determined that map was produced using a proprietary Microsoft product
• Microsoft said the mapping product is used exclusively by Expedia.com.
• The time between the disapearance of the victim and the postmark was 4 days.
• Expedia.com said their logs show only one download of the mapped area during the 4 day period. They provided the download IP address.
• FBI determined the IP address block was assigned to Microsoft.
• Microsoft determined the IP was used by MSN for dynamic IP address assignments over dial-up.
• MSN logs pointed to a specific MSN subscriber, an older woman, that was assigned the IP address at the time the map was downloaded.
• FBI investigated and determined the account was used by her son who lived in another house she owned.
• A search of the house resulted in the discovery of a basement torture chamber with plans and bids for the construction of 2 additional chambers.
• There were videos of the killer doing the deadly deeds.
• Killer was arrested and jailed pending trial.
• Killer was on a suicide watch and his cell was checked every 15 minutes by guards. Guards said they missed 2 cell checks in a row.
• Killer was found hanged in his cell. He was gagged with his hands bound behind him. The death was ruled a suicide.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549
[*]FBI determined that map was produced using a proprietary Microsoft product[*]Microsoft said the mapping product is used exclusively by Expedia.com.[*]FBI determined the IP address block was assigned to Microsoft.[*]Microsoft determined the IP was used by MSN for dynamic IP address assignments over dial-up.[*]MSN logs pointed to a specific MSN subscriber, an older woman, that was assigned the IP address at the time the map was downloaded.

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moral #2: don't use microsoft products. :D

seriously though, the rest of that story has the tinge of urban legend about it. basement torture chambers? hanged in his cell with his hands tied behind him and ruled a suicide? how come i didn't hear about such a sensational case in the news? the media usually loves those kinds of stories.

points about internet anonymity well taken, however! use the anonymizer or proxies like JAP for more privacy. :)

No urban legend here. Here is a description of the program -

"X Marks the Spot" - The Case of Serial Killer Maury Troy Travis

The St. Louis police and the FBI didn't need bloodhounds, lab tests, fingerprints or other standard tools of criminal investigation to help them track down a serial killer. To put an end to the string of murders, police needed only a computer - and the knowledge of how it worked.

Here are some links -

http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/f...arks_spot.html

http://www.rense.com/general26/serial.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Da...uth020715.html

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...al/3462722.htm

http://www.johnsandford.org/articles020614.html

An anonymizer or proxy will not guarantee privacy as many of those provider sites still keep log files. It is really a question of how badly someone wants to track an event and how much money they are willing to spend to do so.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549
No urban legend here. Here is a description of the program -

"X Marks the Spot" - The Case of Serial Killer Maury Troy Travis

The St. Louis police and the FBI didn't need bloodhounds, lab tests, fingerprints or other standard tools of criminal investigation to help them track down a serial killer. To put an end to the string of murders, police needed only a computer - and the knowledge of how it worked.


An anonymizer or proxy will not guarantee privacy as many of those provider sites still keep log files. It is really a question of how badly someone wants to track an event and how much money they are willing to spend to do so.

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i hope they rerun that, i'd really like to see it. what network was it on (no pun intended :D )?

the beauty of the JAP proxy is that the request is encrypted, and then it goes through a bunch of different nodes (i guess is the word, or "mixes," as they call it), making it almost impossible to track. i think possibly if a person (or agency) were determined enough to track you they could, but it's harder with JAP. check it out though, maybe i'm missing something:
http://anon.inf.tu-dresden.de/index_en.html

Quote:

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Originally posted by serotone9


i hope they rerun that, i'd really like to see it. what network was it on (no pun intended :D )?

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Court TV - click link above

uh oh.

*cough* i, erm, that's some interesting stuff actually. what gets me is how much tracking actually goes on of internet usage, i mean say lets say i look on the net for haemorrhoid cures*, i dont want some guy knowin my private medical state of affairs, or do they get alerted to certain words and such forth?


*dont have piles BTW

The logs are kept by most everyone. They aren't really perused unless there is a specific operations problem or a court order. In spite of your denials, here's a prescription for Preparation H. We know you need it. LOL :D

Even on my small web site every item that is sent is logged with date, time, command, file (image or web page), IP address, browser used, plus a few other interesting items. The logging capability is built into all web servers.

hahaha, That was good... Its good to see our boys doing some investigative work :)

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549
Doing stuff on the internet is not anonymous. So think before you do something stupid. The guy below printed a map, cut out a small piece and sent it to a reporter. He was caught by his dynamic IP.

[*]Killer was arrested and jailed pending trial.[*]Killer was on a suicide watch and his cell was checked every 15 minutes by guards. Guards said they missed 2 cell checks in a row.[*]Killer was found hanged in his cell. He was gagged with his hands bound behind him. The death was ruled a suicide.[/list]

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The moral of this part?

The state will be sued by the family, since the guards were derelict in their duty. Or better known as the taxpayers will pay for this screw up.

BC

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549
No urban legend here. Here is a description of the program -

"X Marks the Spot" - The Case of Serial Killer Maury Troy Travis

The St. Louis police and the FBI didn't need bloodhounds, lab tests, fingerprints or other standard tools of criminal investigation to help them track down a serial killer. To put an end to the string of murders, police needed only a computer - and the knowledge of how it worked.

Here are some links -

http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/f...arks_spot.html

http://www.rense.com/general26/serial.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/Da...uth020715.html

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...al/3462722.htm

http://www.johnsandford.org/articles020614.html

An anonymizer or proxy will not guarantee privacy as many of those provider sites still keep log files. It is really a question of how badly someone wants to track an event and how much money they are willing to spend to do so.

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And a matter of how long logs are kept. A year? two years?

What if he had mailed the reporter 4 years after the fact? There probably wouldn't be any logs left of it. Why? Because there is very little or no money to made in keeping logs.



BC

Quote:

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Originally posted by BremenCulhaven


The moral of this part?

The state will be sued by the family, since the guards were derelict in their duty. Or better known as the taxpayers will pay for this screw up.

BC

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Suits would happen in Miami, not St. Louis and not by the killer's family, his mother, who aided the investigation.

People sue for stupid reasons... Its the same thing when people take people to court for $50 and tack on an extra $1450 for emotional distress... Its all BULL...

Its said that in our society most people can sue for stupid crap...

EDIT:
Why not have the victims sue his mom, since she did give birth to him.. Come on its stupid!!!

Quote:

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Originally posted by Colossus
People sue for stupid reasons... Its the same thing when people take people to court for $50 and tack on an extra $1450 for emotional distress... Its all BULL...

Its said that in our society most people can sue for stupid crap...

EDIT:
Why not have the victims sue his mom, since she did give birth to him.. Come on its stupid!!!

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Never said liked or it was far. But, it happens more than it should. It sucks. I think if you get sued and they lose, they should have to pay you 2x what it cost you to go to court.

BC

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549


Suits would happen in Miami, not St. Louis and not by the killer's family, his mother, who aided the investigation.

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The ACLU will sue on the killer's behalf...LMAO...that is how sad it has gotten in this country.

BC

Quote:

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Originally posted by BremenCulhaven


And a matter of how long logs are kept. A year? two years?

What if he had mailed the reporter 4 years after the fact? There probably wouldn't be any logs left of it. Why? Because there is very little or no money to made in keeping logs.

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logs are usually kept indefinitely at the big sites, and they are recording everything they can, too. who knows when the information might be useful or worth big money -- probably sooner rather than later. check out google in regard to privacy, for example (from googlewatch.com):



<snip>
2. Google records everything they can:
For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration. Increasingly, Google is customizing results based on your IP number. This is referred to in the industry as "IP delivery based on geolocation.

3. Google retains all data indefinitely:
Google has no data retention policies. There is evidence that they are able to easily access all the user information they collect and save.

<snip>

9. Google is a privacy time bomb:
With 150 million searches per day, most from outside the U.S., Google amounts to a privacy disaster waiting to happen. Those newly-commissioned data-mining bureaucrats in Washington can only dream about the sort of slick efficiency that Google has already achieved.


edit: snipped for context

Quote:

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Originally posted by serotone9


logs are usually kept indefinitely at the big sites, and they are recording everything they can, too. who knows when the information might be useful or worth big money -- probably sooner rather than later. check out google in regard to privacy, for example (from googlewatch.com):



<snip>
2. Google records everything they can:
For all searches they record the cookie ID, your Internet IP address, the time and date, your search terms, and your browser configuration. Increasingly, Google is customizing results based on your IP number. This is referred to in the industry as "IP delivery based on geolocation.

3. Google retains all data indefinitely:
Google has no data retention policies. There is evidence that they are able to easily access all the user information they collect and save.

<snip>

9. Google is a privacy time bomb:
With 150 million searches per day, most from outside the U.S., Google amounts to a privacy disaster waiting to happen. Those newly-commissioned data-mining bureaucrats in Washington can only dream about the sort of slick efficiency that Google has already achieved.


edit: snipped for context

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True, but google does loose info over time. The links go bad or are deleted as no longer good from their data base. I have seen this just based on looking at old links for handles that were used.

BC

I can search my name on Googles and see posts that I made in the newsgroups back in 95!!!!

So I know they hold data for a long time!

Here is on from 96... GOD!!!!

Quote:

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THANKS IN ADVANCE

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That is just the data. The log files are typically archived to tape that is good for at least 30 years - decades longer if archived to optical media as many sites do.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549
That is just the data. The log files are typically archived to tape that is good for at least 30 years - decades longer if archived to optical media as many sites do.

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The question is do ISPs keep their log files that long? Heck as of late many ISPs have been going belly up so I think their logs are toast. Having a IP address on someone is pretty much worthless if the ISP has deleted the logs or just doesn't store them long enough. Or they are now defunct.

BC

If I am not mistaken.. I believe an ISP needs to keep there logs for a few years according to federal...

A few years ago a public Linux server I manage, was attacking the white house (Hacked user account!!!) My ISP was fax and send a formal letter requesting access to all/any logs from the server.. And if it was not presented... Legal action will be taken...

So I am not sure what kind of federal laws affect servers based in the USA.

Quote:

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Originally posted by ua549
In spite of your denials, here's a prescription for Preparation H. We know you need it. LOL :D

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im gunna try and walk away from this one with my reputation intact. :eek: