There is a lot of information that is considered private, and this includes IP addresses. IP addresses, while used to identify your computer in any online activity, are not listed in pubic directories the same way that information about landline phones is, which means that reverse IP address searches are considered illegal.

While you cannot legally look up someone's IP address, there is other information you can find out about them, legally and free, without a reverse IP address search. A large amount of online communication goes through an email server, which means that a trace route will be attached to the message listing IP addresses and emails of every place a digital letter goes. Though an email address can potentially tell someone a lot, they will have to at least know this piece of information before they can learn more.

Though reverse IP addresses may not be permissible, reverse email lookups can potentially provide you with the same degree of detail. A reverse email lookup searches server directories and lists all information registered to the account. Not all server directories are public, however, so those that are more likely to list personal information, such as work or school service accounts, are not usually available through a reverse email search.

The idea of a reverse email lookup is fairly simple, but the complication comes in with the sheer number of email servers. Also, most people have more than one email address, which makes it even more difficult for reverse email lookups (or, for that matter, reverse IP address searches) to find private data. Ultimately, what it comes down to is that while your IP address is a major identifying point and is frequently linked with your email address, the information available through a reverse email lookup is up to you.



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Just about everyone who is familiar with computers and the internet has at least heard of an IP address, and perhaps you worry that anyone can find out personal information, like your physical address, using your IP address, which is posted on every email or other direct online communication you make. While this is a very natural concern, and there is some truth to this idea, this is not a major security issue.

Your IP address is a sequence of numbers specific to your personal computer that helps to identify and track your online history. A large part of this technology is used to help you create online histories and bookmarks, but it is also the primary piece of information used to identify you on the internet. Everyone who gets an email sent from your computer has your IP address, but the question is how they use this information.

IP addresses are buried within emails, so unless the person suspects the legitimacy of your letter, they will have no reason to even look at this data. Of course, if you are sending out a large amount of spam and someone happens to check their email's trace route, they will probably find your email address as well. Your IP address can't really tell someone anything in itself, but email addresses and, specifically, reverse email searches, can often reveal more about a person.

Using a reverse email search, someone can sometimes get another user's address, but this depends largely on the type of email server and the person themselves. Internet service servers are more likely to have this information, because your service address is part of how the company identifies you.

However, even internet-based email providers might list this data in their directory if you provided it when registering for the account. While a reverse email search can provide a lot of data, the account holder determines how much information is available.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lindsay_Bonn