Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

When I try on my computer to access a video from one of the British TV companies I always get a message telling me that, as I am out of the UK, I am unable to receive the video.

I brought the computer et al with me from the UK. I purchased it in the UK so its IP address will be registered as the UK. So, how do they know that the machine is now in Spain? Do they know what I had for breakfast?

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Is this a joke?................in case it's not.
You will get your IP address from your internet provider, you will be accessing the internet from within Spain, so an IP that identifies you as being in Spain. And yes they do know what you had for breakfast.

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

No, it wasn't a joke - I really don't know anything about how these things work, hence my question. Thank you for your reply.

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Sorry, I am not an expert, but I forget that at one time I knew nothing, and that other people are still jumping on the learning curve.

Think of an IP address just like a postal address, each line of a postal address adds more information and detail (reading up) so country, then city, then street.
IP is similar, it is just a bunch of numbers, but reading from the left gives more detailed information.

Some people use a proxy, that just means they go through another computer to access stuff. So if you used a proxy IP in Britain, the connecting IP at (for example the BBC) would see a connection in Britain, but it would not know that the proxy is then passing on the information to you in Spain.

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

It's easy to do - these people for example explain how

http://www.danasoft.com/

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

if you click on this link it tells you your IP address & where you are

http://whatismyipaddress.com/

it's scarily accurate for mine!!!!

if you know the IP of other people you can put that into a search & it tells you where they are!

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

I think they use it for placing ads as well.

I used to wonder why so many websites had banner ads for pretty girls in the Canaries, until I remembered that my then ISP was registered there. :)

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Use the Forum search for 'proxy' as this has been discussed quite a lot.

> http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ighlight=proxy

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Never was there a truer saying that 'you live and learn'. Thanks everyone for the information. I too wondered how I got invitations to do all sorts of things in or near Seville, when I live nowhere near the place. The head office of my provider however is located there - that explains it.

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Have a look at www.speedtest.net you should get a map of europe and a little yellow pyramid showing you where your signal is coming from.. Holding your mouse over the blue pyramids will give you the name of other signals.

You may also use this to check your download and upload speeds

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Have you tried using a UK based proxy server or would that not work?

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

I am not even a novice at all of this. I only found out about proxy servers during the life of this thread. All I only ever wanted to do was to catch up on a couple of TV programmes that I missed because I had visitors!

Like most things electrical, electronic or mechanical I only want to use them, not know how they work. When they go wrong I just get someone in who knows.

I did download (there you see - I have learned some jargon) the website (here I go again) that showed where my signal was coming from - it told me that it was Lisbon - so I gave up.

Re: Technowizards - Tell me, how do they know?
 

Found this, hope it's of help. http://www.xroxy.com/proxy-country-GB.htm http://www.my-expat-network.co.uk/?g...FZFe4wodlwbp5g