[amitabh1_1]

I was chatting in yahoo messenger and got a ping from a guy that he had my IP and can do damage to my system.
I just had a chat with that guy...have not sent or received any files from/to him...will there be any problem?
I have freeware of antivirus and firewall installed in my system...will that help? and how serious the guy can be...i am a little curious in this...What shoul I do? Please help me in this...

I have not provided him my IP address...he pinged me and told that he have my IP...
is there any chance of getting the Ip while chatting only...coz I think if we share any files then it would a problem...plz help

[SaswatPadhi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitabh1_1

I was chatting in yahoo messenger and got a ping from a guy that he had my IP and can do damage to my system.

No I don't think knowing your IP, one can cause damage to your system, at least not very serious damages
IP address reveals things like your physical location, your isp, your surfing history which can be obtained from ISP etc etc ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitabh1_1

I just had a chat with that guy...have not sent or received any files from/to him...will there be any problem?

Doesn't matter. Even if you chat or simply connect to a chat room, your IP can be known by the chat room MODs. So, even if you don't share a file, your IP can be traced.
For example, you posted this query here, and as I am the MOD of this "Chit-Chat" forum, I can see your IP address :

The IP Address is: 122.169.249.78
The host name is: ABTS-AP-Static-078.249.169.122.airtelbroadband.in

But why are you worried about it ?
The guy can't harm your PC as long as you accept infected files from him.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amitabh1_1

I have not provided him my IP address...he pinged me and told that he have my IP...
is there any chance of getting the Ip while chatting only...coz I think if we share any files then it would a problem...plz help

You have a static IP, which means your IP will remain the same for all your online sessions, so once it has your IP, he can ping you cause your IP is the same.

And yeah, if your system is set to respond to ping requests, the hacker might launch a DoS (Denial-of-Service) attack on your system. He can run a port scan on your IP and check open ports.
I will recommend you to have a good firewall. Also, if he pings your system, I think you can trace his IP and block further requests from the IP. Configure your firewall well and you should be safe.

EDIT :: You can also request your ISP for a new static IP, if you wish.

[indiansword]

just sit back and relax... its easy to get IP addresses.... but very few can exploit them... and yea your firewalls etc. etc. will help you.

[jbp_vicky]

the best way to be safe is to use proxy with messenger and use programs like easy hide IP to hide ur IP.It is very easy to find out IP even if u donot send him any file.There are many tools which is used for DDOSing ip's.

[senaratne]

Thanks to SawatPathi in particular and to indianasward and jbp_vicky for these informative posts.