Google Helps Canadian Courts ID Gmail Users

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I know sometimes we sound like a broken record when it comes to this kind of stuff but with companies coughing up your info at the drop of a hat, trying to hide behind an e-mail addy or IP address isn’t too smart these days. Protect yourself by pretending everything you say and do online is public because everything you do is just a court order away from being public anyway. :D Thanks to Dave for the link!

University authorities were not amused, and won a court order in May compelling Google to turn over the IP addresses linked to the Gmail account. Google, in turn, identified Bell Canada and Rogers Communications as the internet service providers from which the email originated. Last month, neither of the ISPs opposed a court order requiring them to turn over the contact information of the persons who used the Gmail account.
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All I can say is "duh!".

If you're going to spread potentially libelous information about somebody, don't depend on companies to keep your identity "anonymous".

If there's a court order, companies generally roll over, especially if it's within reasonable interpretation of the law. Why should a company, which in no way claims that the email service that they provide is totally anonymous, go to the trouble to defend somebody using their service for some potentially libelous acts? Also remember that this case occurred in Canada, and American laws don't apply. Just like in China, American laws don't apply either. Any company doing business in another country must comply with local laws, even if the company is "American".

Anyways, morally, what does a tenured professor have to hide if the things he is writing about a potential co-worker are actually true? Should he be hiding behind some anonymous account? Is it better to stab the back of your colleague in anonymity or man-up and air the accusations to his face?
 
Half a dozen people that were using the same account. Narrows it down, time to figure who sent it. Too bad they won't turn over the names to police when we get scammed though.
 
Canadian privacy legislation is generally stronger than American, but the same thing would happen in the same way there.

I don't see what the big deal is; there was a court order and thus due process involved. This is the way things are supposed to work.
 
i think people feel private online when they are just casually browsing, but if they start doing grey or illegal things its pretty obvious that anything online can be backtracked.
 
Modern CYA, use your neighbor's unsecured wifi connection... (or even his secured one if you can crack the password)
 
Another CYA, use your nieghbor's nieghbor's connection.

That way, they cannot even hope to track you.

Then use a disposable netbook purchased from best buys with cash (you withdrew 2 months in advance to help CYA).

That... is nearly untraceable.

Now don't be stupid and use your full name as your login (stupid me...).
 
they still cant prove who was physically on the PC

i blame my dog.
 
Just awhile ago everyone jumped on Google and Yahoo because they turned people into the authorities in China. Most people referred to china as commies and socialists Well quess what,its happening in our own backyard. In most peoples eyes, that's OK because we call our selves a democracy, and will dig very deep to justify and find excuses for our beloved leaders in authority.
 
especially since google has admitted they dont delete anything and have records of every email anyone sends and search records related to IP, google is the last company i would do anything stupid from!
 
Did anyone honestly think that email was private?

Rules for email: Don't use it for anything, that if exposed, would result in anything worse than embarassment.
 
NKDietrich said:
Did anyone honestly think that email was private?

Rules for email: Don't use it for anything, that if exposed, would result in anything worse than embarassment.
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Or just encrypt anything, which we really should all be doing anyway :p Makes for a nice easy way to get rid of spam as a bonus.
 
Wouldn't connecting to gmail via anonymous proxy in some foreign country like China or Brazil, then more hops through other proxies make it hard to figure out the original IP? Also would going to free wifi with cloned MAC from some random desktop make it harder still?

Hmmm....
 
You cannot hack into WPA2 using a cloned MAC... just a heads up.

A proxy can be subpeanoaed (spelling), especially in the glorious PRC.

TOR only hides you from the end server. Anybody (hint: ISP) with control over the actual network (hint: government, too...) can just see where the data went at each step.



Anybody who thinks encryption is useful...

Just remember, there isn't anything math based that is uncrackable.

Afterall... somebody has to decrypt it!

(and with these rediculous things like SETI and Folding... who knows what there are really being used for?).
 
The reason I stated my first plan (further up), is because is minimizes your chances of detection... though if you really are going through all those steps...

Something is wrong with you
or
you got something serious to hide

Finally... it doesn't really matter, everything electronic is traceable. In the end, you cannot hide on the internet and hope to stay hidden forever.


If you really want to stay hidden... the USA is not really for you.

Otherwise, the California DMV already took my fingerprint.



Finally, Rod Blagojevich's father already stated: "don't make any phone calls, any emails where the FBI can find you"

He didn't listen.
 
Uncle said:
Just awhile ago everyone jumped on Google and Yahoo because they turned people into the authorities in China. Most people referred to china as commies and socialists Well quess what,its happening in our own backyard. In most peoples eyes, that's OK because we call our selves a democracy, and will dig very deep to justify and find excuses for our beloved leaders in authority.
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You sure you wanted to post that?

People are the same everywhere. Given the necessary circumstances the result will be the same. With this much technology, what did you expected?
 
Heil to the Reichstag,
peace over...


you know how this went down in a certain European country with the 'enabling acts.'
 
Having gone to York-U (Schulich school of business), I hope they finally bounce prof. Noble and a bunch of the other trouble makers out of there (send them to the university of Toronto...:D).

As a side note, use a proxy to spoof your ip when doing something stupid online....:p
 
messerchmidt said:
Having gone to York-U (Schulich school of business), I hope they finally bounce prof. Noble and a bunch of the other trouble makers out of there (send them to the university of Toronto...:D).

As a side note, use a proxy to spoof your ip when doing something stupid online....:p
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And yet, WhatismyIP still tracks me down... about 40% of the time.

Some proxies are configured for NOT hiding your IP, just passing data along (don't ask me why... I wouldn't know, maybe for antivirus?).

A PHP Proxy works very well, too.
 
keenan said:
Canadian privacy legislation is generally stronger than American, but the same thing would happen in the same way there.

I don't see what the big deal is; there was a court order and thus due process involved. This is the way things are supposed to work.
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Exactly. And the thusly identified defendant can assert his legal rights to challenge whether that court order was warranted...
 
jeremyshaw said:
Another CYA, use your nieghbor's nieghbor's connection.

That way, they cannot even hope to track you.

Then use a disposable netbook purchased from best buys with cash (you withdrew 2 months in advance to help CYA).

That... is nearly untraceable.

Now don't be stupid and use your full name as your login (stupid me...).
Click to expand...
no, I am talking about your neighbor's wifi ~6 miles away-
http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/how-to-build-a-wifi-biquad-dish-antenna/
with a Wifi card I picked up at a garage sale, with a computer built and run from a life CD and a thumb drive, all found at salvage sales for a few bucks.
:eek:

figure out where I am.... :D
 
And this is why certain people have email accounts that they only access from public computer networks.
 
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