(not satire – it’s the UK today!)
This is something I’ve been banging on about for a couple of years now.
How on Earth are newspaper hacks managing to trace the personal addresses and telephone numbers of Twitter users when Twitter says it will only release the information on a court order?
When I first addressed the question to a Daily Express/Mail hack – who was boasting about it on Twitter – I not only received no answer but I had to put up with months of severe trolling including completely unproportional threats of violence for daring to ask.
Now a Sky reporter has been caught doing it again – this time resulting in the sad death of the person involved.
But the reporter – Martin Brunt – still refuses to reveal how he managed to get hold of the private address of a Twitter user without a court order – other than saying his methods are legal:
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My question is – if the methods are so legal and ‘normal’ – why won’t these tabloid hacks tell us how they do it?
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Please feel free to comment. And share. Thanks:
Pride's Purge 
The electoral roll? (am guessing)
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I can see how you could obtain someone’s IP address – by getting them to click on a link – contacts in a telecoms company could then maybe provide the rest (?).
Not an expert but I’m sure data protection issues would be raised by this though…
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It’s easer than you might think. When I was ‘night editor’ on the “Mirror” I was occasinally asked to … and I didn’t; which is probably why I’m scratching a living out of writing ‘tosh for dosh’ (or put another way — how am I going to pay the rent this montth?)
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they cant of done it legally they would have to get the ips off twitter and i see no evidence twitter has released them.
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Reported to @twitter @Support hopefully they will be in contact.
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There are many ways of obtaining somebody’s IP address. She may have been sent a tweet with a link in it directing her to a website that would record her IP. She may have been a member of a forum (using the same twitter handle). Forums often record people’s IP address. If she uploaded images on a forum or website – then those images may have contained EXIF data – including Geo-location data. Somebody may have dobbed her in. She may have owned a website with a domain name. If not protected, the registrant details would be publicly available, including her home address details and tel No. All you need is a username & an email address and you could potentially find out lots about a person, if you use a search engine intelligently.
Of course, an IP only resolves to your hosting company. The hosting company knows the home address of the owner of the IP. But it would not be a stretch for a journo to grease a few palms for somebody to pass on those details. There are other ways – some very technical, that also could be employed. There are companies out there that do all this for a fee. Finally, don’t rule out a bent copper – they have authorisation to request IP details.
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When I said hosting company – I meant your Internet Service provider (ISP).
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and doing that is certanly not legal time for an investigation i think.
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Let the hanging judge have his way with Trolls,I say!
Poor old Tom! how much can a man take?
Keep Stout! 🙂
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i havent any evedence she was a troll yet just that she was acused of being one.
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There has been something very fishy about the whole Madeleine McCann abduction case from the very start. This woman, Brenda Leyland, 63, who suicide herself was living quite near Rothley in Leics where the McCann family live. There is also something fishy about Martin Brunt of Sky News tracking Miss Leyland down to her house and putting pressure on her, apart from the question of whether he got hold of her home address illegally. If Miss Leyland had been acting improperly on a social media site, well this is surely a matter for Twitter and/or The Police to address, not for a journalist such as Martin Brunt, and certainly not trailing her right to her home address as a journalistic ‘stunt’. If I was the judge, I would hang Martin Brunt in a public square and all the rest of the Sky News team of dodgy reporters.
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PLEASE keep this pressure up Tom. If there is some way I could help then I would happily do so. Maybe in this case the inquest will require some material disclosure. Is there perhaps a way of making that so?
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I don’t think this woman was ‘trolling’……she was only stating her opinion — which people may or may not agree with, and she didn’t send her posts directly to the McCann’s Twitter account, neither was she threatening the McCann’s, who must get a ton-load of abuse on a daily basis for neglecting little Madeleine while they went out for supper at a swanky restaurant.
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well questioning the McCann version doesn’t make someone a troll.
i know the McCanns have suffered unreasonable abuse at times.
but they expect that some people will question there story.
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It was tragic and they are now paying the price…….for how long?
Yes, maybe they were lured into false sense of security in the family orientated hotel. Usually there are baby sitting facilities in such places. However, kids are still taken under their parents noses. It only takes a few seconds.
So, let us stop blaming.
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“If I was the judge, I would hang Martin Brunt in a public square and all the rest of the Sky News team of dodgy reporters.”
…… then you and the people who liked your post are disgusting apologies for human beings.
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PW – “Let the hanging judge have his way with Trolls,I say!”
… Then you are a disgusting apology for a human being.
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funny martin brunt cliams to have gone in her house but theres no recording of what was said.
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Twitter can’t do anything about it. If I send you a picture of a cat with a link to see more, or some news headline with a link to the full story and you press either, I’ve got your IP address, with that I can find your location, ISP etc
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PW – Apparently you think the McCanns are paying the price for something they did wrong, though how any normal person can possibly think that is incomprehensible to me. That’s not the point though – it’s about the ability of some tabloid ‘journalists’ to obtain private information about people, and their refusal to explain how they did so, in spite of the laws which have put some of them behind bars already.
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FF
Are you alright? You ain’t been on the ‘bitter’? Try Bengali Tiger…craft ale, much better.
Poor old trolls….they just need somehow to get out their venom…….maybe they should question why.
Perhaps they feel disenfranchised. Society is a funny thing…..I best go back down my rabbit hole sweetie 🙂
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I think FF if I had been in their position I would have felt I had done wrong.
As for the gutter press…..they sold their souls for money…..
Most people spend their entire lives barking up the wrong tree!
For what?
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but that cant give you the home address only the isp can do that.
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Really? What do you think the McCanns should have felt they did wrong?
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Tom…
I duly say this to you….
I have had quite enough of the man behind the name….FF et al…
I hate to say this but he is boring..me at least……colonics again…..god wot must his poor wife put up with? He needs ‘house training’ shudder…..:(
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Can I tweet that? 🙂
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However he got it she was obviously ‘defenseless’ and vulnerable… Use the legal ways and not similar to what’s happened already via online means… If any had the right it would be the police with a court order and we’d know about Twitter getting ‘pressed’ for personal sensitive information way long before this lady was faced with all she had and knew was coming because it’d be the same pack of blood thirsty dogs telling us that!… At the very least Sky et al are guilty of inciting hate crime against a woman forced to leave her home and die in a hotel… Shame on them 😦
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“Let the hanging judge have his way with Trolls,I say!”
Yes, please go back down your foul hole and never emerge. Calling for people to be hanged for ‘trolling’ is a disgusting idea. Perhaps one day you may actually understand the reality of a person being executed.
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Many ISPs issue dynamic IP addresses randomly chosen from a large block of IP addresses as soon a user logs on. Mine does – my IP address is different every time I log on.
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“A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.” – Joseph Pulitzer
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I find it amusing that people who spend half their lives on the internet appear unable to perform a simple search. The lady in question’s full info was available online, including land line number etc. She was a director of a company and also involved in the local church, both of which gave her details. Her real name was listed alongside her Twitter handle on another site. Due to the furore surrounding her death, Google will now be saturated with other links; at the time of the Sky video, ‘sweepyface’ brought up only 5 pages of search results and would have taken no more than half an hour to arrive at her virtual doorstep via Streetview. No conspiracy, no MI5 involvement etc *rolls eyes*, you may now stop wallpapering your rooms with Bacofoil.
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Thanks Bollards for the info. If she gave her real name next to her Twitter name herself then there’s no mystery, and Twitter was not responsible.
Tom – Is this correct to your knowledge?
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Your device’s NAT IP address is different. Your router’s IP address will change only occasionally and then it will need to be powered off and on again. All IP addresses logged to routers are recorded against the time of issuance and the MAC address. The MAC address is unique to the router and is recorded when issued to your address.
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I’ll hazard a guess; look at the full profile then use that information on a site like 192.com to find the address, phone number etc. of the individual.
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Apparently you think the McCanns are paying the price for something they did wrong, though how any normal person can possibly think that is incomprehensible to me.
Well social services can’t be normal, because they are always accusing people of neglecting their children, mostly lone parents or working class.
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The Mc Canns left their child unattended while they dined out. If a lone parent had done that she would have had her child stolen from her by the social services.
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if that was true why dident martin brunt when asked.
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if that was true why dident brunt say so when he was asked.
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I regularly find info on users on the internet mate. Most of the time your average person leaves personal stuff strewn all over the internet.
I had a dealing with an ebay user today trying to rip me off. I found not only that he was tax fiddling, his company house details his home address and that he’s cycled 56 miles so far this month. 😀
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So Ms Fawkes, you think the McCanns are to blame for the kidnapping of their daughter. Not many people would agree with you, but at least you’re saying what you think. Your opinion is perhaps not a surprise after the strange things you’ve said about your own children.
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Maybe like many journalists he was trying to make out that he’s smarter than he really is.
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why would they be calling her an anomous troll if her adress was avialeble for anyone to see clearly it wasnt.
how could she be listed as a company derector under the name sweepyface.
i doubt if she would be known in church as sweepyface ethere.
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So you think it is ok to leave a child unattended if you are middleclass but not if you are working class?
Obviously the fact that children are stolen in both cases seems to have eluded you and is as wrong as leaving your kids unattended, but the latter did not happen unless the former had taken place first in the McCann case.
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Your opinion is perhaps not a surprise after the strange things you’ve said about your own children.
When you get a womb transplant you can tell fibs about your children too, if they are not taken off you first.
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Class has nothing to do with it. Where did you get this latest of your bizarre suppositions from?
Your second sentence doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Please learn to write.
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or bollard is telling a pack of lies as a simple search of the internet will prove.
she wouldn’t be listed on 192 under the name sweepyface.
and loads of people called Brenda leyland.
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Give me your twitter handle and I’ll see what I can find out about you once I have time. You’d be amazed.
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ok ill do that its stevenbones1.
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ill lookforward to see what you come up with.
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After 1 minute connected to north staffs and the TUC in some way.
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you’ve found me on Facebook haven’t you.
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What makes journalists special? http://wp.me/p1CGOs-xr via @PaulbernalUK
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Nuggy – I don’t think Bollards is lying. The problem is as Bollards said, that Google is now awash with hits about this subject, and of course is now also subject to EU censorship.
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Fink
My second sentence eludes you because you not only have a short memory span regarding my telling fibs about my children, but the supposition was that if you were able to give birth you would not be a fit person to nurture your children, you are so abusive.
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if that was true how could they call an anon troll
and why would be so shocked upset by being confronted if your making no secret of who you are you wouldent be that suprised if someone turned up to talk to you about what you were saying online.
and i gaurente if you type they name in a company director check you wont find anything.
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Pennie
I’m surprised Fink hasn’t answered your question with’ 2 wrongs don’t make a right’, where human rights and Fink are concerned only one wrong makes a right.
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Not looked there yet.
I’ve just had a UPS guy calling and phone rang twice. 😀 I’ll get back to you when I have time. Don’t worry (I’m a lefty) if I find something dodgy I’ll keep it between us lol.
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you have youse google us to get around EU censorship.
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At least you the opposite of a Pedo 😀
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and lack of human rights in other countries justifies your disgusting denial of human rights for immigrants into the UK, does it?
Finks twisted reply to human rights.
Who thinks you can’t silence gays who throw abusive insults at us, but they can silence us under the political correctness laws.
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“if that was true how could they call an anon troll”
Are really you asking whether journalists always tell the whole truth? Ha ha!
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I’ve found the real you. It seems your quite an activist.
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Tony – People usually only leave the means to find personal information if they don’t really care if it’s found or not. Can you find out anything about me? I’m curious……
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nuggy: Yes, I would like to know too, Brenda Leyland having first rebuffed/snubbed Martin Brunt in the street, why she would have then invited him into her house, and what was then said between them?? This is odd behaviour, at the least. OK, there may be an inquest to come and we can await the Lelicester Coroner’s report, but I do not find enough grounds for this lady to have taken her own life on account of being accosted by a News reporter, especially when she stood up for herself to him and said: “I am entitled to do this…”. One of Brenda’s many Tweets said: “If I am found dead in odd circumstances I would like people to question why…” Well, surely we SHOULD question why…? We have been told only that she fled her house in the village of Burton Overy and was found dead in a Marriott Hotel in Leicester… I wonder, in light of the McCann’s frantic obsession with suing anybody and everybody — including £55,000 last week awarded against the Sunday Times, and a £1million-Euro suit pending in Lisbon against Portuguese Police Inspector Goncalo Amaral who wrote a book saying he thought the McCanns were complicit in their daughter’s disappearance — whether the McCanns could have been cooperating with Sky News, and whether it’s too far a stretch of the imagination to suppose that Brenda Leyland might have been covertly murdered, for being a constant pain in their side with her 4,265 Tweets over 4 years…. — and hence was “found dead in a hotel.” (This is only pure speculation, but thousands of concerned people have speculated upon the disappearance of little Maddie since 2007)
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I’ll have a friendly go when I have time mate. 😀 As usual sods law dictates the whole world suddenly wants something from me the minute I think I have spare time.
Nuggy is difficult because he is all over the internet and has reams off stuff to look through. A pro wouldn’t take as long as me.
He has left a few clue’s in some of the forums he’s visited, Even YouTube and the UK column has given me some leads. But I only had about 30 minutes spare today.
He also associates with quite a few twitter accounts the same as me and we are pretty similar by the look of things which Makes it more difficult when searching.
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Speculation gave you a lot to say 🙂
You need re-tuning.
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No, but this is…..
Etta James – It’s a Man’s Man’s World: http://youtu.be/WeoqZ4AUenI via @YouTube
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The restaurant the McCanns ate at was no further from their holiday home than the bottom of my brother’s garden is from my back door, so when he sits at the bottom of the garden while the kids are in bed is he neglecting my children?
Predatory pedos are just that and they have entered people houses while the parents are in and stolen children from their baths and beds, they are evil, devious and calculating, they target children with learning difficulties because they can’t express themselves well enough to inform on them, they target a Deaf children for the same reason and they don’t walk around with a flashing light on their heads and a siren blaring.
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I’ve written to Sky with a critique of the sports commentary. Since then I receive 40-80 spam (sexual nature) emails daily on precisely the same email address, hardly used in the last year. It would be interesting to know if others have received such ‘treatment’
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I would put money on the exposure of names and addresses down to good old, pure, snivelling, human greed. A few notes slipped to an employee of an ISP and Bob could well be your uncle.
Many workers at ISPs aren’t paid terribly well, the shifts are long, the conditions intense and the supervision can be very harsh. I can see some workers would be more than happy to glean a few quid as compensation, from slipping out the odd bit of personal data. All it needs is a bit of paper and a pencil, nothing fancy. Then there’s the kudos of gaining attention from a journo’, which for an oppressed individual, might make the day worthwhile. A few days of feeling special and important, never mind that someone died.
…and just to exercise my troll muscles, I think the McCanns did do wrong, leaving infants unsupervised whilst they went out to drink and dine. That’s the deal with parenting isn’t it? You should actually do it properly. Like GF points out, the rules on parenting just don’t seem to apply if you have plenty of dosh and middle class pretensions.
If the McCanns had been unemployed and/or on benefits, the whole Maddie hysteria would have died down the minute the parents were slung in jail and their other kids taken off them and sent to care homes.
The death of Brenda Leyland, won’t worry the conscience of any hack, or any one who gave out her personal information. This is the world we have now. Life has never been so cheap.
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im certan thats what happend.
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That’s the trouble, once you start speculating it’s hard to stop…. just as once you start driving a Porsche it’s hard to go back to going to work on a bicycle 🙂
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Well said, Lucy… You may indeed be bang on the money there, that there was a little bit of corruption involved… PS, Your Uncle Bob has sent me his regards 🙂
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