untangling_the_web

DID: 4046925
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ISP may indicate a very specific location-say, Fairfax County, Virginia-so check
your profile (how to do this later). However, just because you're using a dial-up
connection doesn't mean you can become complacent. Determined malicious
hackers use very sophisticated tools, such as one that automatically dials thousands
of random phone numbers until it finds another modem connected to the Internet,
maybe your computer modem.
The sheer size of the Internet is also an inhibiting factor in what can be tracked by
network administrators. For example, take a look at a web statistics page at the
Department of Pulsar Astrometry of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory in
Moscow:
Pushchino Radio Astr"onomy Ob,er,"Wjf"I', Russia, Access Statistics:
http://psun32.pI·ao.psn.ru/lJlfo~,r,,,lal.html
0.03 0.06 62579 15 It.ktu.sc-uni.delc8
0.03 0.03 38850 17 It.mtl. its
0.01 0.02 29662 6 It.ot.slvie3-a10
0.00 0.01 10654 2 It.takas.sia.dialup41
0.01 0.02 20170 3 It.takas.vln.dialup66
0.00 0.01 10690 2 It.telecom.klp.dialup74
0.01 0.01 12598 4 lu.pt.ppp01-o71o-o19
0.00 0.00 3197 2 lu.pt.ppp01-o71o-o65
0.01 0.01 8608 6 Iv.alise.gw
0.00 0.00 1574 1 Iv.gov.vid.proxy
0.01 0.01 11833 4 lv.lu.fmf.cs.pc06
0.00 0.01 10854 2 lv.~iga.dialup166
0.00 0.01 10854 2 lv.~iga.dialup161
0.01 0.02 21378 5 MDDNa£.aviano.Cits-fW-l
0.01 0.01 14129 4 mil.af.keesler.kee22-200-52
0.01 0.01 12062 4 mil.af.langley.scm.user237066
0.01 0.01 12082 4 mil.af.pope.jasUI!
0.00 0.00 703 1 mil.af.wpafb.pxOo
0.01 0.01 15560 5 rnil.uscg.gaceway-fincen
0.00 0.00 663 2 mil.uscg.gaceway-08c
0.00 0.00 703 1 mv.net.dhivehinet.engine3
0.00 0.00 703 1 mx.com.pvnet.pppd23
0.01 0.06 99068 5 mx.com.spin.blaster37
0.04 0.04 46281 19 mx.inaoep.pactli
0.01 0.01 16789 4 mx.itesm.mty.macematic8S
0.00 0.01 14270 2 mx.net.telmex.tntleonl-1-157
Network administrators use these statistics to glean general information about where
visitors to their website are coming from, peak activity times, and which internal uris
are visited most frequently. Of special interest are accesses by client domain. Most
accesses at the observatory, not surprisingly, are from other computers at the site,
but if you scroll down the list, many international sites, including .edu, .gov and .mil,
also appear. While access to servers from commercial US accounts is generally too
commonplace to provide much useful information, access from .gov or .mil accounts
show up quite prominently on these statistical listings. Also, generally only older or
superficial statistics tend to be available to the public; more recent statistics, which
tend to be very detailed, usually require a password.
In addition to unscrupulous people trying to get into your computer, a somewhat less
threatening but nonetheless worrisome possibility is that a network administrator at
the website you are visiting may be able to tell the following about you:
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