detecting users location by ip ( not what you think )

You can find out by running a simple trace route in a dos-box (Start --> Run --> command --> press [Return] to open a dos window)

In the dos-windows enter "tracert ipadress" and press [Return]

This assumes that you are using any windows.

You can also open "http://www.nedcomp.nl/visualroute/" in any browser and get a visual route to your IP.

Doesnt need any registration or subscription.

visualroute is a traceroute with a whois added to the process....

eitherway, how would a traceroute tell me the location of a user...

what else does a traceroute? gives you the location where a user is connected to the internet (and the way that a packet takes to get there). if you want to get the location from where the user connects to his service provider let me tell you that there is no way to do this beside hacking the provider.

your talking about a dialup user ? otherwise your comment doesnt make sence ,
please restate .

I think this is what you are looking Pinging the IPs http://countries.nerd.dk/isolist.txt
http://countries.nerd.dk/more.html

Additional Help Can be Found Below...

http://www.visualware.com/personal/products/visualroute/index.html
http://www.visualware.com/personal/download/index.html#visualroute ( Download Link )

Try this Utility
http://www.analysespider.com/download/cr.zip
http://www.analysespider.com/geo-targeting/geo-targeting.html ( Home )
or
http://www.ip2location.com/   ( You can purchase the entire database or just use the free 20 lookups per day )
Info on the same
http://www.ip2location.com/screenshot2.htm
http://www.ip2location.com/IP2Location_IP_Country_Specification.pdf

http://ftp.ics.uci.edu/pub/websoft/wwwstat/country-codes.txt ( Country Codes )

http://downloads.builder.com/abstract.aspx?docid=89130 ( GeoIP Utility )
http://builder.com.com/5100-6371-5226901.html

I have no direct experience, but I know that PHP.net uses geo-IP and similar databases to redirect you to the mirror closest you based on your IP address. Since their site is open source, for the most part, you may want to check how they did it.
may this help u :
http://www.networkingfiles.com/PingFinger/Neotraceexpress.htm

IP adresses aren't sold one by one ... they are sold as a bunch of IPs to an ISP.
So the IP adresses are always grouped together, and I think RIPE is the one who controls it. Therefor you'll always find similar adresses in similar regions and i think thats how geo-IP works

regards Holger

the way this demo works is... at the command line you type

powerping www.somename.com

and it replies with

www.somename.com is currently located in perth,australia, approximately 125km from the capitcal city.

it does this without using any databases.. if the owner of www.somename.com changes his server
to say hongkong,, within 5 minutes,, the powerping will report that the server is now in hongkong.

from what i understand, using a triangulation algorithm combined with
fixed servers messaging each other commands to remotely ping
the ip in question, and a secondary server to gather the results and
applying some clever speed of light laws,  it's possible without the
need for a database.. what do you guys think ? and where can
you see potential accuracy anomalies

apakian

Triangulation algorithm? IP network doesn't work like radar - don't ever think that, if you live next to a region, that the next region is the next hop! If your ISP hasn't a router close to the ISP of the pinged server, it can be, that your ping goes the whole wide world around just to end at your neighbors site... so what do you expect from triangulation? Me nothing... sorry.

You'll definetly need to know, what regions ISPs are given what IP-ranges - thats the only way to know in principle where your ping goes.

in conjunction with server geographically dispersed fixed ping servers..

Like i said before - that doesn't work... you'll never can be sure, what way do the TCP/IP packets go - electromagnetic radiation like radio goes always straight line. Channeled in fibre, copper cables and using numerous non-specified objects (routers, bridges, repeaters,...) you never can be sure of the delaytime... so triangulation is no physical means

im thinking of a way to explain in this better,, back soon.

sorry guys,,

i took a break, and forgot this question was open...