a question

[ksmith]

Before I search further, I'll toss out a general question. Do/Can internet cafes and other public places log the IP addresses of folks using the service and could law enforcement use that info to track/trace a person of interest? IOW, if you take off, toss your laptop over the nearest bridge and use public?

Comments

[elmunadi.livejournal.com]

A lot of hardware out there (many if not most DSP-based NICs) are capable of changing/spoofing MAC addresses. There are software tools to enable this, and it's a known, if not overly common hack.

If you spoof MAC addresses, sanitize the device you're working from of any personally identifiable info, use TOR and/or other link-washing tools, and are ruthless about encryption (keep all tools/data in a TrueCrypt-crunched-hidden-volume on an "openly" encrypted volume), you're going to be a serious pain to anyone building a case, unless they happen to have eyewitness to you and your onscreen activities.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

All this leads me to conclude that my protag most assuredly does not possess this level of expertise. But this stuff is good to know.

[elmunadi.livejournal.com]

The scary/amusing thing is that there are tools available to novices to make most if not all of this easy. If your protag does much (if any) netsearching on anonymous surfing, the tools are plain to see and pretty easy to set up & use.

but, that said, not everyone has that specific motivation ;^)