# IP Trace



## ArmaTheGreek (Aug 5, 2009)

Hey guys,

Say we have a website and there are some files there that you can download, is there any way we can trace/track the IP of that person who downloaded the files?

Thanks!


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## polishpaul (Oct 5, 2008)

yes, you'd have to have access to the web-server logs, and the date/time that the request was made. Otherwise you could be looking through 100 or 1000's of lines of logs (depending on traffic). Anyway, if you know the person accessed the site at some date and some time, you simply look for entries with that date stamp and see what requests were made. If your hosting provider offers stats, this info MAY be there, but i doubt it.


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## Suncoast (Jul 28, 2009)

I don't know about IIS, but if the server is Apache, you can grep the Apache log for the file name and it will list every IP address that downloaded or accessed a file.


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## ArmaTheGreek (Aug 5, 2009)

Ok thanks for the info guys, by the way, one more question.

What if a person will use a cellphone to browse internet and will download a certain file into our website, is it gonna produce IP address into our logs and if not is there any way to track it?


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## polishpaul (Oct 5, 2008)

IIS does have logs and i think they're enabled by default, however there are different levels of details.

Everything is logged, even cellphones, but i imagine it'd be nearly impossible to trace the location of a cellphone as for 1. its mobile, 2. i bet the IP changes each time. You can always check it by googling "IP locator" or something similar.


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## Suncoast (Jul 28, 2009)

I think PolishPaul would agree, it would help to know in what context you're asking. For example, if you thought someone stole data from your website, knowing the IP address that stole it is only the beginning. Finding out who that IP belongs to usually requires involving the Police or the Courts.


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