well a friend of mine told me that when you direct connect with someone on AIM theres a chance that they could hack into your computer if they know how. is this true?!

It is, but they have to know what they're doing.

When you connect directly to another user via AIM, you essentially broacast your IP address (a number unique to your computer at a given point in time) to that user. The user can discover your IP address by using certain utilities, such as Windows' traceroute utility.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The user still needs to bypass security on your computer to really do anything--so it's not like the average joe can hack into your computer.

netstat also works too right?

If the hacker was good enough, they don't have to connect to you computer via AIM.

Yeah, any network monitoring utility, including netstat, will suffice as well.

well not in all aim issues, if you have the newer version, all you can really get is one's IP address.

ya it is true u could hack that way becuz since he/she is directly connected then ur computer is open to him/her but a virus might be able to slip through
aim warns u before though so w/e

^ umm if you send a virus. -says duh to me-

You can't send a virus merely by connecting—that would require a file transfer. Connecting directly in and of itself doesn't open up any security holes.

^ oh yeah you have a point there. i regret saying stuff without thinking

your avatar and signature bother me for some reason, maybe because i think that girl is butt ugly.

their is no way of getting a virus unless the actual program is on your computer and opens up... unless they send you a file and you click on it.. that could be the virus and that's how u messed your ownself up..


IPv4 addresses are gonna be nothing like a year from now.. it's all about IPv6 now.. haha.... i still have no clue anything about them..

i do know how to subnet tho ;).. haha.

Unrelated,

Also, would your IP show even if You use Gaim or Miranda, or Trillian?

Probably, but can someone give me a yes or no?

Yes. Either way, a direct connection is still opened up, allowing a person to potentially find out your IP address. (It's a protocol issue, not a software issue.)

But the important thing is that knowing someone's IP isn't a big deal—TCP/IP isn't designed to mask IP's because it's not really necessary, nor is it a good method of security if it is your only method of security.