[HPFGU-Feedback] Re: The Current Debate

[Shaun Hately]

On 2 Feb 2004 at 18:13, msbeadsley wrote:

> Can someone else please address this? I live with a computer nerd and 
> asked him, "Is it possible to tell where in cyberspace messages, 
> etc., originate from, i.e., the originating computer or ISP?" and he 
> said, "Er, usually...at least sometimes."  I imagine it would be 
> harder to determine who was doing things like deleting files (no 
> audit trail, I'm guessing) or siccing Yahoo on the group for 
> infractions of their terms of use agreement (real, imagined, or 
> somewhere along the spectrum of opinion as to what constitutes 
> infraction). The other thing that occurred to me in response to 
> Susan's post is that while "the Federal agencies that do this" likely 
> do have the resources/ability to track down terrorists, or saboteurs, 
> or cyber-stalkers...well, is that a suggestion that we "make a 
> Federal case out of" this? In other words, it may be nontrivial to 
> entities not so well equipped as the Bureau (or Department or 
> whatever it is) of Homeland Security. This here stuff is extremely 
> small potatoes; I can't imagine law enforcement getting very 
> motivated to find HPfGU's, er, vandal.

Simple answer, given time and resources it isn't that hard to trace 
most activity on the internet back to a single computer - there are 
steps people can take to make it harder, but it can still generally 
be done. I don't do it myself, but I do work with people who have 
to do that on occasion, and I know a lot of the methods.

However, it tends to require a significant amount of resources - 
and also, often, requires things like court orders to do it. It is 
generally anything but a trivial matter.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at ... | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia