ip address

Infopackets Reader Drew W. writes: " Dear Dennis, I was randomly added by a female on Snapchat and she asked me what I looked like. We hit it off, and then she asked for some inappropriate photos of myself. A few minutes later, she showed me ... pictures of my Instagram follower and said if I didn't pay, they would be sent to my followers. I have already sent $400 and was provided video proof of my photos being deleted. However, she is now demanding another $100 to 'delete for good', whatever that means. I already received SMS text messages from 4 other phone numbers demanding higher amounts. ... (view more)

Google is to give users of its VPN service more control over the location they want their traffic to appear to come from, rather than just selecting a country. It should overcome a problem with localized webpage information. A virtual private ... network (VPN) is designed to overcome problems with an inherent aspect of the Internet: that both Internet data and its origin are readily accessible by default. One analogy likens it to vehicles passing through a giant glass tube. Even when the data itself is encrypted, the origin and destination can still be discovered. In the analogy, a VPN is like ... (view more)

The Director of National Intelligence has confirmed the government collected visitor information from a US webpage using powers stemming from the PATRIOT Act. It's reawakened political debate about whether search and browsing history should be part ... of these powers. The argument centers on Section 215 of the act which gives the government the authority to collect "tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to obtain foreign intelligence information." In the past that's been interpreted to include electronic records such as phone logs. ... (view more)

Have you ever tried to watch a trending online video, only to find that it's not available in your region? A Smart DNS proxy is a solution can help. Here's how it works: A Smart DNS proxy can be used to unblock geo-restricted content from around the ... world. It does this by collecting data related to your geographical location and re-routing it through a computer server located in a region where access to the blocked content is permitted. They do this by changing your Domain Name System (DNS) settings so that the websites you visit think you're in a location where you are permitted to access ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Steve J. writes: " Dear Dennis, A few weeks ago my neighbor hit my car parked on the road. I've tried to settle this amicably but now he's threatening to (among other things) hack into my computer and delete my files. Since then, ... my Internet has been slow and I suspect that my neighbor is stealing my WiFi signal . I have searched all over the Internet on how to stop someone from stealing WiFi , but the solutions are not effective. I am scared to death he may get into my machine and cause havoc. Can you PLEASE help me? I'm desperate for help and you are the ONLY one I trust ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Neil W. writes: " Dear Dennis, Thanks for your interesting article on whether a VPN is safe for online banking . However, one question I can't seem to find the answer to is: do I need VPN on a public network? Do I need a VPN on a ... private network? What about a VPN on a shared network? An example might include a student doing banking at a university shared network. What do you think? " My response: Short answer: A VPN, or virtual private network is useful in a few cases - for example: hiding your tracks online (to some extent, but with major limitations) or accessing geo- ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Sue P. writes: " Dear Dennis, I stumbled upon your website and read your article about GoDaddy email not syncing with Outlook. I have been dealing with a similar issue - GoDaddy emails are slow to send, and GoDaddy emails are slow ... to deliver. In fact, just about everything with GoDaddy is slow - yet, I'm paying over $300 a year to host my site at GoDaddy. They initially got me to sign up on $5.99 a month promise, but with all the extras I've agreed to, the costs add up quickly! Surely their must be a better choice. I was wondering can you give me a rough idea as to how do I ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Antonio S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I use torrents to download files on the Internet. To hide my IP address while torrenting, I use a VPN service. The problem is that sometimes I lose connection to my VPN service, and then my ... torrent client exposes my IP address to the rest of the world. This is a big problem because I wish to remain anonymous when torrenting. Can you tell me if there is a way to stop the torrent when VPN disconnects ? " My response: I spent some time researching this issue. The best way to prevent your real IP from being seen if your VPN disconnects is to ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Izzy M. writes: " Dear Dennis, I am trying to figure out how IP addresses are assigned using IPv4 (IP addressing version 4), but can't seem to find a straight answer online. My question: is there a certain number that my IP ... address has to be? Is there any correlation between my IP address, subnet mask and default gateway? How is my IP address assigned or determined? Thank you in advance! " My response: I think the reason you can't find an answer to this question is because this is an extremely broad question. To put this as simple as possible: the answer to your question ... (view more)

Infopackets Reader Kathy S. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have been researching the difference between a VPN server and a VPN , and I am super confused. I read your article entitled ' Do I need a VPN? Are VPNs Safe for Online Banking? ' and that has ... helped a bit, but I was wondering if you could explain which one would be cheaper for me in the long run? It is cheaper to have my own VPN server or should I pay for a VPN service? " My response: A VPN server and VPN (service) operate very similar because they use the exact same technology - however, using a VPN server vs a VPN (service) are two ... (view more)