Hello Jorgen-ga,
It's interesting business, trying to be an internet sleuth.
As I'm sure you're aware, Google Researchers cannot provide
information on private individuals, but we can certainly provide some
guidance as to how to conduct a search of your own. Your question
touched on several specific aspects of this, and I'd like to address
them in turn:
>>How much information would a person be able to get about another
person by knowing his/her ip address alone?
The answer: Maybe a great deal. Maybe nothing. Depends.
A "Whois" search is a key tool for looking up background information
for an IP address. If the address is "registered" -- for instance, if
it's the address of a web site -- then you may hit paydirt and find
out detailed contact information. Unless, of course, the address is
the equivalent of an "unlisted number", in which case, the trail will
quickly run pretty cold. If the address isn't registered -- for
instance, if it's the address of one of ten thousand networked
printers in a large company -- you're not likely to find out much info
about it.
But hey...you won't know until you try. So here's where to go:
This is my favorite, very flexible Whois search tool at:
http://www.whois.sc/
"Whois" allows searches on IP addresses in a variety of formats, and
will return whatever information is available in public registration
files.
As can be seen from the instructions, searches can take several forms:
---------
Whois Source supports three types of searches:
- IP address searching ("66.218.71.198")
- Partial word(s) searching ("bill gates")
- Full domain ("nameintel.com" goes directly to whois)
---------
So put the IP address info that you have into the search box, and fire
away.
Note that you shouldn't use the www prefix for a web site. For
instance, to search on my internet services provider, Verizon, I would
just enter verizon.com into the search box (leaving all the other
choices on their default settings). I get results that look -- in
part -- like this:
Registrant:
Verizon Trademark Services LLC christian.andersen@verizon.com
Verizon Trademark Services LLC
1320 North Court House Road
Arlington, VA 22201
US
1-9727187621
FAX: 1-9727183946
Domain Name: VERIZON.COM
Domain Status: Client Locked
Administrative Contact:
Christian R. Andersen christian.andersen@verizon.com
Verizon
600 Hidden Ridge Drive HQE03H01
Irving, TX 75038
US
1-9727187621
Record last updated on:..2000-03-06 00:00:00.0
Record expires on:.......2006-03-06 00:00:00.0
Record created on:.......2000-03-06 00:00:00.0
Domain Name Servers:
vzdns01.verizon.com 192.76.85.133
dns2.verizon.com 198.23.5.148
-----------
As you can see, I end up with the name of a contact person, phone,
fax, email, and mailing address.
Web sites of individuals will sometimes display an equivalent amount
of information, but may also come up pretty dry if -- as I said
earlier -- the information is being withheld along the same lines as
an unlisted telephone number.
If you're interested in some more background and specifics on IP
addressing, have a look at this explanation of "Understanding IP
Addressing" at:
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2002/IPaddressing.asp
------------
>>How much information would a person be able to obtain through IRC
[Internet Relay Chat] about another individual?
I don't think you'll have much success tracking anyone down through
their IRC name. Unlike the IP addresses, IRC identities are routinely
kept confidential, and are generally released only to law enforcement
officials with cause.
However, people sometimes use their IRC names in several different
contexts. You might want to try conducting searches on the name
itself, to see what -- if anything -- turns up.
I would recommend two searches in particular. Plug the IRC name into
the search box at:
www.google.com
and again at
groups.google.com
Use quotes around the name, like this: "game_master"
You might get lucky.
--------------
How would a person be able to check whether a person exists.
i just mean exists maybe a birth certificate or something similar
(online)[for
free]. Im guessing all you'll need for that is a name and a DOB.
Hmmm. This is tricker, for several reasons.
First of all, many public records are geographically specific -- if
you think a person lives in, say, Houston, Texas, there are a set of
records in Houston and elsewhere in Texas one could use to search for
information on that person. But...a very different set of records
would exist in, say, Albany, New York, which would call for a very
different search strategy.
Secondly, someone could readily create an alter-ego or invented person
on the Internet which would show up in all sorts of places as a
seemingly real person (remember stories of people's dogs getting
magzine subscriptions!). You would need to evaluate the credibility
of each information source as it arises, to separate out truth from
fiction.
With those caveats in mind, however, there are certainly many steps
you can take to search for infomation. And it is possible -- in a
small percentage of cases -- to come up with actual "official"
documentation such as a copy of a person's birth certificate.
Here's what I would recommend for starters:
--Before beginning a search, list all the things you know about the
person. A full name is the most important identifier, but other
things may be significant as well. Does the person have a
professional license of any sort, such as a doctor, real estate agent,
plumber? If so, there may be license information publicly available?
Do you know where he/she attended school -- there may be alumni
information? The possibilities are too broad to fully list here, but
listing out what you know already should be a preliminary step to help
guide your search.
--Your first stop on the Internet should be Google, at
[ www.google.com ].
Here you can enter the person's name to search for information on the
internet. Although this sounds simple enough, there are many
variations on how and where to search:
a) start by typing just the person's name in the search box. If it's
a very unusual name, you may come up with only a small number of
results. Conversely, common names may yield thousands, even millions,
of hits.
b) If the first search produces an unmanageable number of results,
then try a more restricted search. For someone named Robert Lastname,
for instance, here are some of the various combinations to try in a
Google search:
"Robert Lastname"
[NOTE: The quotation marks should be included in
your search]
"Robert * Lastname"
[NOTE: the * will pick up any middle initial or
middle name]
"Lastname Robert"
"R Lastname"
"Lastname R"
c) If you know of a nickname the person uses, search on that as well.
For instance, you may want to repeat the above searches using Bob as a
first name, instead of Robert.
d) Conduct the same sort of searches on Google News
http://news.google.com
and Google Groups
http://groups.google.com
These will pick up recent news articles that mention the name, as well
as any
reference to the name in online discussion groups.
----------
Step 2: Use any/all of the following free internet people search
services to look for additional information:
Refdesk's two lists of search services list dozens of options for
people searching:
http://www.refdesk.com/addsrch.html
http://www.refdesk.com/addsrch1.html
Anybirthday's lookup of birth dates:
http://anybirthday.com/search.htm
Virtual Gumshoe lists a zillion services, both free and for a fee,
that are
well-organized by category:
http://www.virtualgumshoe.com/
For instance, if you know your person's college, you can click on the
"Alumni" link to see if any of the services listed there would be
useful.
----------
Your last stop (for now) should be the HowtoInvestigate site at:
http://www.howtoinvestigate.com/
This site offers additional tips on conducting a people search, and
also links directly to a number of professional services that can
conduct "background checks" on individuals for a fee -- these include
criminal record checks, credit histories, driving records, etc.
----------
The steps I've listed here will certainly get you started. There are
many other resources out there, but their utility very much depends on
what sort of information you have as your starting point.
As you requested, I've answer this question as fast as I could.
If anything I've written here is not clear, or if you feel additional
information is needed, don't hesitate to post a Request for
Clarification, and I'll be glad to assist you further. |
