Re: get personal info from an email address

From: JWMeritt (jwmeritt_at_aol.com)
Date: 01/13/04 

Date: 13 Jan 2004 13:53:54 GMT

Frank Slootweg wrote:
>JWMeritt <jwmeritt@aol.com> wrote:
>> Frank Slootweg wrote:
>>>JWMeritt <jwmeritt@aol.com> wrote:
>>>[deleted]
>>>> Now, from just an email address I would get where they mailed from and
>>>> possibly more from the name if they use it on mailing lists, the USENET,
>>>...
>>>
>>> What do you mean by "where they mailed from"? The location (i.e.
>>>country, city, etc. where they live/reside or the system? If the former,
>>>then it should be noted that the address often does not contain this
>>>information (user@yahoo.com), that one often can use an address from
>>>anywhere in the world, that a address can be misleading (I have a .de
>>>address, but do not live in Germany), etc.. If the latter, then the
>>>sending mailserver does not need to be in the same domain as the sending
>>>(From:, etc.) email address.
>>
>> Like I said, where they mailed from. Not necessarily where their keyboard
>is.
>> Very few mail servers (which are located fairly well) are colocated with
>their
>> client systems.
>
> Huh? How can you derive the *mailserver* *location* from the *email
>address*? As I mentioned, the two are not (neccessarily) related at all

If it is a valid email address (and not spoofed like yours is - he did not say
that it was invalid in his example) the domainname in the email address is
where they mailed from. Not goegraphically (most likely - those fields in the
DNS database are optional and seldom used) nor where their client is.

>>> Bottom line: You *may* be able to derive something from the email
>>>address, but without other supporting information any conclusions are
>>>speculation at best.
>>
>> Naturally.

That is obvious to most, I hope.

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http://profiles.yahoo.com/jwmeritt and http://hometown.aol.com/jwmeritt/
                         James W. Meritt, CISSP, CISA

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