Find the IP Address of a Skype User
Skype is a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and family, but can occasionally be abused to send spam or unwanted messages other users. Receiving these messages can be annoying, but if you receive threats or abuse, it's time to take action. Providing the authority with the user's IP address can help them stop spammers and other abuse.
Steps
- Understand an IP address and what you can do with it. An IP address is analogous to a mailing address. It can reveal information about a user's Internet Service Provider (ISP) and geographical location, but doesn't show sensitive or private information about the user themselves. The only way to get that information is to go through the ISP, a process which requires a warrant or court order. For further security, your computer and internet activity are almost always well-protected with firewalls and other defense mechanisms, and your IP address can change frequently.
- It is possible to flood an IP address with enough information that it can't connect to the Internet. This will almost definitely not happen to you - and if it does, simply change your IP address to stop it.
- While you won't be able to do much with an IP address, turning it over to the authorities when reporting an abusive user can help them more efficiently deal with the problem.
- Decide whether you need to find a user's IP address. You can easily block and report an abusive user without it. This will prevent them from contacting you in any way. From your Contacts page in Skype, right click on the abusive user and select "Block Contact." A dialog box will appear asking you if you are sure you want to block this user. There will also be a box to report abuse from this person. Check that box and click Block.
- In addition to blocking and reporting a user, report an incident of harassment to Skype via email at abuse@skype.net. Include in your email as much specific information as you can give, including screenshots of conversations.
- Unblock a user by using the Contacts dropdown menu and selecting "Manage Blocked Users..." This will take you to the settings, and a dialog box will pop up with a list of your blocked contacts. Select the user you wish to unblock and click "Unblock."
- Find the user's Skype nickname. In Skype, go to your contacts. Find the user you want to investigate and either click on their picture or right click on their name and select "View Profile." The profile has a list of contacts for the user, including (if available) Skype username, phone number, and email address.
- If the user is not one of your contacts, search for their name in the Skype search bar, as you would to find a new contact. When you find the correct user, navigate to their profile page. You won't be able to see their full profile, but you will be able to see their username, which is all you need.
- Write down the username or copy it to your clipboard. From the user's profile page, right click on the username and select "Copy."
- Make sure the user is online. Looking up the IP of a user when they're not online can give you an error or a wrong IP address, so for best results wait until the user is online before trying to find their IP address.
- Open a Skype resolver in your Internet browser. Because of the way Skype is programmed, the IP addresses of users are exposed while they're connected to the Internet, sending and receiving data through Skype. This exposure can be exploited to discover IP addresses for online users. Skype resolvers do just that. Given a username for an online user, they can discover and reveal the corresponding IP address.
- Use http://resolvethem.com, or Google "Skype resolver" to find more options.
- Type or paste the Skype username into the appropriate text box, and click "Resolve." The resolver will look up and then display the user's IP address. This step may take several seconds to a minute, depending on the resolver you use.
- If you get an error or an IP address that doesn't seem right, double check that the user is online, and that you have entered the correct username. Try again, and if you're still not successful, try using a different resolver.
- Look up information about the IP address you found to verify it and learn more. Use a site like WhatIsMyIPAddress.com or IP Tracker to find information about the IP address and internet host as well as its geographical location. This can help you learn more about the user and verify that you have the right IP address.
- If you wish to report an abusive user by IP address rather than username, do so via email. For example, simply blocking an account won't prevent that user from creating a new account with which to contact you. Email abuse@skype.net and include the user's IP address and all known usernames, as well as a description of the abuse with dates and screenshots where available.
Tips
- Immediately block and report spammers or abusive users. This might help stop other people from going thought the same thing you did.
- Report harassment, extortion, or other harmful and illegal activity to your local law enforcement as well as to Skype.
