Does My Email or IP Address Reveal my Physical Location?

When I did put my profile in certain date sites, and received emails from certain people, I would check their IP to make sure that they were living where they said they were living, and that helped me a lot to separate wolves from sheep. Only with gmail that didn't work. Gmail doesn't give the IP in a city other than their general one...

All very interesting again Bob, as always

Another interesting article, thank you Bob.
T'other day I was using Firefox to book an hotel on hotels.com when I was called away before confirming the booking. When I returned to my computer (WIN 10 alas) I found a message on my Facebook account reminding me to book before the rooms sold out.
Odd, because I had not given a Facebook reference to hotels.com - and in any event I was booking under my wife's name and Hotels.com account.
Someone out there is most definitely peering into my computer and watching what I am doing - how can this be and how can I "draw the curtains" on my computer??

You need to be aware that for customers using broadband (so many internet users), it is very likely that they will be using the same IP address for an extended period of time - likely months. In this case it could be possible to link the posts with other activities on the Internet.

Similarly, an internet search on your email address, and possibly your suggested name (J Smith in Bob's example) may allow people to link you to other information that may give away more details about you.

You'd have to be somewhat paranoid to worry about this. But I prefer the way Bob works - only publishing a user name - as publishing an email address opens you up to more spam coming.

While your email address doesn't directly identify you, lots of companies (intellius, spokeo, pipl, etc.) scour public information and the Internet and may be able to identify you from your email address. And anything your publicly post may contain information that others can see possibly including your name, email address, etc. And since you give your email address together with your name, address, etc. whenever you do online shopping, any hacks of the sites you use (and there have been many of them e.g. Adobe, LinkedIn, Traget, etc.) can potentially reveal your information and may allow people to find you via your email address.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, you said more clearly what I was trying to explain in the last section of the article. In some cases, there are ways to connect the dots. It all depends on the trail of breadcrumbs you have left, and the extent to which trusted parties protect that information.

I article Bob posted about confidentiality of location when using internet. This was great topic and info was really eye opening to a novice like me. I got a lot from reading it. Thank you

Take a any device without cell service, or turn turn off cell radio. Connect WiFi. Load Google Maps. Google knows your precise address.

EDITOR'S NOTE: That doesn't concern me. I've not seen any evidence in the almost 20 years that I've used Google services, that they've sold any of my personally identifying information to a third party.

I responded to Publishing Clearing House's E-Mails for several months and lo and behold my E-mail box was flooded with all kinds of E-mails They undoubtedly sold my E-mail address to hundreds if not thousands of other companies. I stopped responding and many of those e-mails went away.
James

@John - when using Google Maps - I believe your GPS is open and working to see the maps. Your GPS will almost always start from your home address or where ever your are at - So that you can get to where you want to go.

Turn off your GPS and I think you will see a difference. In fact, Google Maps may not work as well - Since, you will need to type in the information of where you are at.

I'm like Bob - I don't worry about Google services. It's the other services on the Internet that I am more concerned about. }:O)

@John - Additionally, the strength and direction of cell phone towers give a good indication on where you are.

And ... When the Google street view cars went through they also mapped Wifi signals. Location by Wifi is a known technology.

http://www.newsweek.com/2017/06/16/big-data-mines-personal-info-manipulate-voters-623131.html

Seems to indicate that it is possible and was done by the people behind Breitbart and Trump.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ironic, because pundits claimed that the Obama campaign similarly used big data and social media targeting to defeat Romney in 2012. But at the time, it was seen as smart and savvy.

Another good article people. Every one has brought out some very good personal points, but if we are going to live with this fear, should we even be on the www. I'm sure the Gov. knows my address, as do my creditors and friends, if I should be afraid of anybody else finding out, then they better not bring a knife to a gunfight. I refuse to live in fear.

was useful to read, tnx. I also use VPN to protect my privacy and I often use what is my ip service to confirm that my real IP address is hidden. As for me, it's necessary to pay more attention to internet security.

If you're REALLY concerned about your computer's IP address "giving away" your physical location, then by all means, use a virtual private network (VPN), which not only substututes your IP address with one set up by the VPN, but also encrypts all data that you transmit and receive.

I have two VPNs loaded on my computer: AVG Secure VPN and CyberGhost. Both are excellent. I have two loaded on my computer because I use an unsecured Wi-Fi network at home whose signal is sometimes unstable. If one VPN cannot lock onto the signal, then I use the other VPN as a back-up.

One other tip: If you live in a rural area and/or rely on Wi-Fi at home using an external long-range Wi-Fi antenna, make sure that your antenna is plugged directly into your computer's USB port. Do NOT plug it into a USB hub, as USB hubs act as "traffic controllers," which can render your Wi-Fi reception unstable.