Hacked Skype IP Address Search Shows Who's Speaking From Where
mask.of.sanity writes "An online search portal has been launched that reveals the IP addresses of any Skype user. The portal needs only a Skype username entered in a search bar for it to produce the IP address of a target user. It then uses IP addresses to geo-locate users on a map and reveal their ISP information."
I entered "SlashBI" and it didn't come up with anything.
That was quick
Can be done very simply with a little bit of tcpdump. they're just sniffing network traffic from the machine to reveal information that skype doesn't normally display.
They make it sound like it's some awesome service hacking app when it's just displaying information the client app is just choosing not to show you.
Does this really surprise anyone? Skype directly connects you to another user. Their servers aren't a relay, they're just a meeting point to hook users together. Both users' computers simply have to have the IP address of the other person for their service to function. (though I could see them relaying just text traffic, but certainly not audio/video)
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Infact, its likely that most people reading this comment would be able to do this in lass than a minute
The article says you just need to enter their skype username - does this mean that it works for even people who are offline? I know that I have at least one or two pseudonyms I've used for voice-chat while playing vidya games. If it does work for offline people, that would mean Skype is keeping logs of most-recent IP addresses.
Service seems to be down right now, so there's no way for me to test it.
Is nothing sacred anymore ?? Someone can know my IP address !! This is MY IP address and I demand my PRIVACY !! MS can you never do nothing right !!
Now I can have even more people tell me that they have my IP address and they know someone that can hack me!
Is it me or did the person who wrote the summary of this article accidentally include his IP when linking to the portal page?
Skype will happily supply your client (and consequently you) with the IP address of any user, here's what you need:
- Skype
- Any traffic monitoring application (tcpdump, Wireshark, even netstat would work)
1- Search for the user name using Skype
2- Try to call/chat with them
3- Collect the IP from your traffic monitoring application
4- ???
5- Profit!
Wow so they think they can determine your location via your IP address and the ISP location. My ISP is HQ'd in or near Denver CO, I live in Utah, all the web-ads that try to target my location target me as being in Denver. So hack away, you'll still be hundreds of miles off, based solely on my IP.
I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
I saw this presented about a year ago at a security talk. If I recall correctly they were getting IP addresses by initiating a call but then terminating it before some threshold where the other party was actually notified, so it was invisible to the people they were tracking. The cooler part in my opinion was how they showed that something like 80% of people could be located on Skype (in the directory) based on information in their Facebook or LinkedIn profiles, allowing for targeted tracking of people. They also had some more advanced geo IP stuff to the point where they could get really good location results. The example they had was a woman in Florida where they could track her whole week's routine i.e. at work at 9:00, home by 5:00, where she goes to lunch, when she is visiting her grandmother in the next town. It is especially effective against people who are logged into Skype on their smart phones. Arguably the even cooler part was where they showed that they could track the entire population of a small country with something like $20,000 in computer hardware. As obvious as the nefarious applications of this are, it could also be pretty useful for tracking large scale movement for stuff like city planning.
At least if you're a Skype user. It sounds like Skype is banning anyone who's logged in from the same IP address they're running this tool on.
#DeleteChrome
Just don't enable javascript. Done!
Although not quite as easy as just firing up tcpdump (If it was - this would have been 'exploited' a long time ago)
http://pastebin.com/rBu4jDm8
Not sure if the version of skype client is relevant (Maybe you just need to enable debug mode)
You could replace looking at the logfile with sniffing packets if they are in plain text (Which they probably shouldn't be)
I haven't tried this.
http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2012/05/skype-replaces-p2p-supernodes-with-linux-boxes-hosted-by-microsoft.ars
As we all know, Geo IPs can be dreadfully misleading. btw the site seems to be down. slashdotted. LOL
Why does this site use cookies? I use Chrome's whitelist for cookie permissions, and I got a "Cookies error" when I tried to visit the site. What possible legitimate use could this site have for using cookies? Note: advertisements are not legitimate
"LOL, Skype killed us." is what I see when I visit the site. IP ban?
Some people LIKE to stay logged in.
Some people LIKE to stay logged in.
But for that you only need to send a cookie when logging in. Because if you are not logged in, you cannot stay logged in anyway.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
Your computer is currently broadcasting an IP address! :)
- cmon, am i really the first to post this? Mod funny pls
You have not yet heard of skyhook; either that or you aren't using wireless. http://www.skyhookwireless.com/ -- If you are using wireless, then your IP probably reveals your location to within meters.
If you must hide your IP address, you can use one of many Skype/Sip gateways. SIP to SIP to the gateway then Skype to Skype from the gateway. Since Skype does not work well in Linus, I use SIP instead. SIP is P-P too, a SIP call will reveal my IP to a SIP caller. A Skype caller will only see the gateway.
There are several gateways. IPPI.fr is only a representative example.
You can Skype me in France anytime. I have never been to France.
http://www.ippi.com/
I don't use this to hide my IP address. I use it with an ATA so calls ring my phone, even when I'm not online. With their speed dialer, I can make Skype calls without turning on the computer.
I can be called by Google Voice, an INUM number, SIP, Skype, or IPKall number and any will ring my SIP phone, provide voice mail, caller ID, etc.
Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Linksys+PAP2T
The truth shall set you free!
What strikes me as a bit sick (or at least sad) is that anyone might feel this project is a good use of their time. I can think of no reason why a skype user need be legitimately stalked in this way except for purposes of law enforcement, and those authorities already have resources at their disposal.
Yea right. Can't get my identity :-).
Must be Microsoft that owns Skype now..
Of course this site is no longer active as the US Government now follows /.
"This domain and website have been suspended because of abuse or copyright reasons."
Some people never learn...no matter how many times something happens to them.