# Is it possible to trace someone through msn messenger?



## markp (May 1, 2006)

On saturday someone added me to their msn contacts.

I didn't recognise the name or the email address, I didn't know this person but I got the impression from chatting that he knew me.

Can you trace someone on msn messenger who may be using an email address under a false name and find out who it is?

I live in the UK, I don't know if that changes anything.

Thanks

Mark


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## Hairy_Lee (May 1, 2006)

you could just ask and see what happens.... try looking at their contact card; they might have one


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## DarkJokerX (May 1, 2006)

Asking seems to work fine for me.


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

I've tried that but it came up with nothing :-(

I don't recognise the name or anything... Is there anything else I can do?


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## Hairy_Lee (May 1, 2006)

this sounds like a round-about way of asking how to hack them lol 

There really isn't anything that can be done, so you asked them and they didn't tell you?... sounds like a good reason to block them if you ask me


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

lol God no!!

I found it hard enough to download msn messenger!!! Thats as far as my computer expertise goes!

I was a bit concerned because there were a couple of things about that chat that made me suspicious and I'd just like to put my mind at rest.

I wasn't sure if it was possible to make a note of the email address and trace them that way by finding out the IP address and identifying them that way.

But then again I haven't got a clue what I'm talking about now!!


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## Hairy_Lee (May 1, 2006)

lol.... there is a /whois function in msn messenger.... you just type "/whois" with out the quote but they still have to accept... but i cant be sure if that function is still in msn messenger


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

But would that tell me anything if the person is using a false name?

Is it possible to find the IP address and identify them that way?

I thought that pretty much anyone was traceable and thats what has made me so paranoid!!


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## Hairy_Lee (May 1, 2006)

/whois.... should they accept will show you their IP address


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

How do you do ask who is?

And what does it look like to the person being asked?


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

I did a search on google for whois stuff and downloaded something but when I do a search I can't use @ so it isn't very helpful for email addresses!!

Help!

Should I be downloading something else?

I looked at the profile and the contact card but that didn't come up with anything :-(

Also the person I was chatting to went offline very suddenly as if I'd been blocked... If they have blocked me is it possible to ask whois ?


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

Any tips would be REALLY appreciated


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## Crazydude185 (May 1, 2006)

I'm pretty sure unless you have the consent of the other person... ther will not be a way. Messangers spend alot of money making it hard for you to not be able to trace somone else or else they would probably get some hefty law suits against them.


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

I thought it might be possible to find the IP address from the email address and identify him that way...

But computers are really not my strong point and I'm just guessing at what can and can't be done.


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## magicman (May 1, 2006)

It is not possible to find out someone's IP from an email _address_, the only way to do it would be to emailing them, and when you get a reply that usually contains information such as sender's IP. In hotmail you need to alter the mail viewing preferences.

Having said that, even if you found out their IP, that wouldn't tell you anything about them apart from where in the world they are and what their service provider is. And the service provider is certainly not going to divulge who owns the IP address.

It's impossible to trace an IP directly through messenger. Microsoft acts as a middleman in all conversations, and so has the opportunity to remove all info like that before sending on the message to your computer. So even if you had a program to tell you all the IP connections you had at that moment, it would only give you the IP's of microsoft's servers.

If they don't want to say who they are, I would block them.


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

Thanks magicman for such a detailed but not too technical answer which is exactly what I was looking for 

So you can't go to someone and say 'I have a concern about this email address.... can you check out who it is?'

Someone suggested emailtrackerpro to me. I tried it and I entered two hotmail addresses that I use; one for work and one for personal stuff because I find it easier to keep them separate.

The search produced the same IP address which is what it should do.

Couldn't I do the same thing with this email address I want to trace and take it from there?

Or isn't it enough to have the IP address? 

How do you know the provider won't divulge the owner of the address?

Sorry to be a pain but I know next to nothing about computers

Thanks

Mark


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## magicman (May 1, 2006)

Like I said above, there isn't any benefit from finding out their IP, as you won't be able to do anything with that information.

The reason the service provider wouldn't give out any information about the IP address's owner is simply the Data Protection Act. They would get in big trouble, similar to the trouble a bank would be in for letting The Sun get hold of Sven Goran Erricson's financial situation. It just won't be done.

I haven't used eMailTrackerPro, so I can't really comment on it, but from the looks of it, an email actually has to be sent for a trace to happen, otherwise it just gives you the details of the email service they sent it from (hotmail, yahoo, gmail etc).

Honestly, there's nothing you can do to find out who this is without their consent.


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

Thanks magicman 

In a way that puts my mind at rest. I'd like to be able to trace it but I can't so at least I can stop wondering if its possible.

He may have blocked me already but I'm going to block him now and be more careful in future who I allow in.

Many thanks


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## markp (May 1, 2006)

One other question.... When I did that emailtracker search with two of my own email addresses, it produced the same IP.

Was that my own IP or was it details about something else e.g the email service?

I'm sure I read something during the week that the Government are going to crack down more on people trying to groom children on chatsites. How would they do that if its impossible to trace them?

I suppose when its a Government matter they can overrule the Data Protection Act.

Thanks

Mark 

P.S. I know more about politics than computers!! lol


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## magicman (May 1, 2006)

http://www.emailtrackerpro.com/support/v5/manual.html said:
			
		

> Trace an email address
> Tracing an email address (i.e. name@company.com) reports the mail server for the address; it is useful for identifying the company and network providing service for the address, but does not provide specific information about the sender.


So, although I don't know what email addresses you plugged in, in all probability you're getting the IP of the email server, not yourself. If you want to try and match the details you get with your actual IP, use this website.

And in answer to your second question, although the Data Protection Act still would apply, any service provider is bound by law that their service is not used for unlawful purposes. So they would have to co-operate fully with the authorities in providing all information about the user, and that information the service provider will have. With broadband, the address has to be visited to install the cables, and with dialup they will have the phone number, which in turn can be traced from the phone company.


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## twentyoneth (May 20, 2006)

I'd like to point out that there is a hotmail option to show the IP address of any incoming email you recieve (or there used to be), then you can whois them on the whois site.

[Posted incase they subscribed to this topic, because I know this is old, and others might find it useful.]


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