is it true that internet providers track what sites you go on and what you search. Internet providers like verizon or at&t
Some lite (?) reading for you- https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=260773&highlight=verizon Another about Verizon- https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1613680&postcount=14 This is just one of many links about isps and security- searching the forum will bring you alot more information. To me, it's not so much a question of "Do they?" I already assume they do-it's what they do with it and how long they hang on to 'it'!
I think they log the web addresses that you visit, but not the content....unless they are making a special effort to monitor you. I may be wrong though.
I visited my ISP's office a few years ago - a local ISP in my city. It was quite an eye opener! He showed me that he can view the web page that any client is on - I connected to the internet with my laptop and I could see that what I was viewing on my monitor, showed up on his monitor. He only syncs with a client if said client calls in with a problem, and he needs to do so in order to give help. He does not maintain records of his users' surfing history. His concern was that law will be enacted requiring ISPs to maintain logs for a certain period of time. See: FBI Revamps Push For Two Year ISP Log Retention http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/FBI-Revamps-Push-For-Two-Year-ISP-Log-Retention-106799 ---- rich
so the assumption is that they do track everything you search and which sites you go on but how long do they keep the stuff?
OK, I admit that my comment was facile. There are always trade offs. You go for belt and suspenders, and decide that kevlar waders are too much hassle. And then something rips your leg off. Or it doesn't. In this case, I assume that ISPs are logging, and I take suitable precautions to maintain my privacy and/or anonymity. If I'm wrong, it probably hasn't cost me very much, and it's been fun.
If a user has a hardware router and has not changed the default DNS servers from his/her ISP in the router's configuration file, then the ISP's DNS server will log a record in the DNS server's log of the ip name and ip address of your access via your ip address assigned to your router (when you power up and get a newly assigned ip address from a pool of DHCP ip addresses, unless your ISP assigned you a static ip address). If a user has Linux, and no hardware router, they can use OpenDNS servers (or any other DNS servers that are available) by modifying the nameservers in /etc/resolv.conf to use those nameserver ip addresses for DNS resolution instead of their ISP DNS servers. I am certain that Windows PCs can be configured to use OpenDNS servers (similar to Linux), but in a Windows specific network configuration file. Note: DNS access logs are probably not the only access logs the ISP is capable of keeping on a per account basis. So, unless you encrypt your network usage via an encrypted client (like Tor) or other secure encrypted VPN provider, it is very likely your ISP can monitor your browsing (if they have a reason to do so, like a request from legal authorities or your use of the network pipe is a bandwidth hog and needs to be throttled for excess consumption relative to your level of subscribed service). -- Tom
Yes, ISPs can see EVERYTHING you do online. Every website you go to, everything you download, what you post in forums/blogs, etc. EVERYTHING. This is not just paranoia. I actually got a call from my ISP about a year ago. They were complaining that I was downloading copyrighted movies illegally and that they would cancel my account and report me to the authorities. Not only did they know I was downloading movies (via bittorrent) but they listed the names of the movies in question and everything. I made up some BS story and got out of it, but still. A real eye-opener. If you are serious about your security you need to use a VPN or at least something like TOR for browsing. Otherwise they are watching everything.
Curiosity question here... were you using a private tracker (like PassthePopcorn) or public ones (Demonoid, etc.)? I suspect the latter, but I am curious to know. The probably were afraid of RIAA cease and desist notices?
I want to know also if PeerGuardian/Block was being used and, also, obfusication. If a standard P2P port is used and you don't have an IP blocker in place, then yes, the chance of your ISP being contacted and you landing in hot water is pretty good. I was contacted by mine a couple of years ago. They asked if I was aware that my account was using a large amount of bandwidth. I told them yes I was, that I was downloading large files. Not a word was said by them or myself about what kind of files. They simply told me they were worried I may have been hacked and wanted to check on me. I told them I was fine, we ended the call, and nothing has ever come back up in the years since. You have to understand, ISPs CAN see what you do, as Rmus stated. However, they do NOT want to play cop/spy, even though the government is slowly forcing them into a corner. It takes time and money to babysit their customers, and they simply don't want to.
That's right. However, they will be forced, by law, into policing all P2P on their networks if ACTA passes.
how do isp track you though? Most peoples ip address gets changed frequently so if someone had 123 as there ip this week and then 125 next week how can they track 123 and 125 to you?
Umm because they are the ISP and they are the one providing the IP address to you in the first place.
If ACTA passes, securely-anonymous VPNs will become VERY popular. Based on what I've read, LEA doesn't really want that, because it would hamper their investigations.
