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Comment by abdullahkhalids | Hacker News Reader

Can you explain why exposing your IP is a problem or security issue? What is the attack I am exposed to because someone knows my IP address?

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Probably because it's quite a personal thing, which can be used for port scanning, ddos, geolocation and other stuff. Also anyone can monitor p2p activity: https://iknowwhatyoudownload.com/en/peer/

Not that big of a problem if it's dynamic.

Does this apply to WebTorrent (WebRTC)? I'm not sure

It applies to torrenting in general, so I'd assume it also applies to WebTorrent

CGNAT also mixes up things somewhat.

Exposures vary based on network config and other factors, but this study by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada talks about specific data acquired via IP address.

https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-actions-and-decisions/research...

This is a illuminating read. I think the example drives it home.

--------- For example, the IP address of one individual Wikipedia contributor revealed that the person has:

1. Edited hundreds of pages on Wikipedia about television shows, both North American and international. The interest in TV shows was extensive and specific, but the details are not included here for privacy reasons;

2. Edited dozens of pages on Wikipedia related to history topics;

3. Participated in a discussion board about a television channel; and

4. Visited a site devoted to sexual preferences following an online search for a specific type of person.

Violates expectations of privacy. Anyone can reconstruct your watch history.

What expectations of privacy should you have if you are directly contacting peers to retrieve data?

None, and that's the point. But a casual user clicking on a web link may not know that.

What if the video on how to patch an extremely vulnerable router? I could be pretty sure that anyone watching that video was susceptible to this exploit at that time.

It trades the privacy problem of trusting YouTube with your "data" with the problem of trusting the entire world with your "data"

for as long as that IP is pointing to your machine someone can perform analytics and scanning, subject you to manipulated packets and can track down your most recent activities as depicted by server caches, even spoofing a server you use often thus pwning you....

most people dont get this level of attention but you dont want it unless you like the thrill of cyberwar

Imagine if every false DMCA claim sent to a YouTuber meant $10,000 lawsuits for anyone who watched the video.

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