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Hi there.
This little traceroute tutorial will help you track down the host of a
web site that may contain objectionable material. (please
note that by objectionable material, I am referring to material
that is unlawful or expressly forbidden in the acceptable use
policy of the web host). Please do not confront a web host
about the content on a page they are hosting simply because you
don't agree with it. The beautiful thing about the Internet is
that it allows anyone to publish their thoughts instantly and
broadcast them to the world. The information that I provide here
is not intended to hinder anyone's right to free speech or
artistic expression. It is intended to simplify the traceroute
process and make it easier for you to locate the providers of
material that may be in violation of the law and/or policies of
the hosting company.
Most reputable web hosts outline and forbid very clearly in
their acceptable use policies, content that they feel is
detrimental to the overall health of the Internet. This content
includes (but is not limited to) web sites promoting racism,
harassment, attempts to infiltrate the security of another
computer system, denial of service attacks, attempts to collect
your personal data without your knowledge, fraud, distribution
of viruses, SPAM, forgery, illegal distribution of copyrighted
materials, etc.
You may find that contacting a web host will
not result in a response or a response that is belligerent in
nature. In most cases you will find that these hosts, while they
are indeed hosts are actually resellers that are leasing a
server from a much larger company. They may feel that they can
set their own agenda in this manner but this is not true. A
reseller must abide by the terms of service of the company from
which he is leasing his server. If you cannot get a response to
your complaint, the next step is to go upstream to the owner of
the block of addresses in which the IP of the web site resides.
To be on the safe side, it is best to e-mail both the reseller
and the upstream provider at the same time.
Many web sites will try to get past
traceroute by masking themselves within a frame. The URL that
appears in your address bar may only point to a page that is in
actuality hosted by a different company. I will show you how to
determine if this is so.
I certainly hope that you are still with me.
This isn't difficult at all. In most cases, you can trace and
report a web site in 3-5 minutes.
As an example, we are going to use this web
site. My own: www.blackhatdesign.com
, and we are going to trace it using a wonderful tool that
returns a myriad of results on the origins of networks, www.network-tools.com
.
This is not the only tool that can accomplish
the job but it is very comprehensive and makes for a tutorial
that is easy to understand.
Thomas
Kernen maintains a wonderful array of sites and tools used
in the traceroute process if you think another tool is more to
your liking. You may visit his web site at www.traceroute.org
.
Now, lets get started. Tutorial instructions are indicated in
green text.
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