[unisog] 2 Questions

[Daniel Feenberg]

On Fri, 19 May 2006, Allen Mundt wrote:

> I have 2 questions for the group.
>
> This text [some changed to protect identities] appeared on a blog:
>
> "XXXXX, who I've noted previously is .....a terrific staffer, is being 
> scouted by the big boys. I see the <political organization> searching 
> her name in Google and finding my blog.
>
>
>
> Question 1:  How are they getting that information?  Would this person 
> likely be obtaining such information as a result of personal 
> conversations, or is there a way that I or anyone else can submit a 
> Google query that tells who is accessing what?  What would the syntax 
> be?

They aren't necessarily getting it from Google. If the blogger has access 
to the logfile for his own web server, then hits on his blog will 
typically show the referring web site, which would be Google in the case 
cited. They would also include the IP address of the visitor, which might 
be traceable back to the <political organization>.

>
>
>
> Question 2: Lot's of organizations use non-routable IPs internally. 
> When those are NAT'd or PAT'd out through a firewall, is it possible for 
> a web site to track the actual user IP, or obtain information like 
> machine name, login ID, etc., without the knowledge of the person 
> hitting the site?
>

Somehow I doubt if there is a mechanical way to do this, without rooting 
the firewall or natbox. We have lots of experience with http caches, there 
is an x-forwarded-for http header which in a small percent of cases will 
have the originating private IP address, but that is rare.


Daniel Feenberg
feenberg isat nber dotte org

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> Thanks
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> Al
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> ******************************************************************************************************************************
> Allen Mundt
>
> "We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and
> in our souls, the deathless dream, the eternal poetry, the perennial
> sense that life is miracle and magic."
>    --  E. Merrill Root
> ******************************************************************************************************************************