If you ping someones ip address using command prompt and you get a reply,does that mean ,,,the computer with that ip address is in use?
2007-12-08 07:16:40 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Computers & Internet ➔ Security
PING (packet internet groper) merely sends out a tiny message... and waits for a reply. So as the other people have rightly stated.. this would only tell you whether or not the system was reachable (and only if he ping request is not blocked by a firewall).
So you will basically only know whether a computer or router with that IP address is turned ON. ie, if they are using a wireless connection, then the IP address will be to the wireless router and not to the actual computer, as the computer will be assigned a private / NAT address such as 192.168.*.*
If you wanted to know if a person was actually sitting at a computer... there really is no way... unless you send them actual communications that require a very detailed and direct response... even then they could be routed through another remote computer ;)
If you want to know more detail about what services are running on the computer... this is the beginnings of hacking.. known as footprinting a system and using more detailed scans to find out whether the system is windows, linux, etc.. by doing what is called port scanning, banner grabbing, etc...
Good Luck
2007-12-08 07:39:42 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
When you ping someone's computer or a domain name it does not tell you whether there is a user at that computer reliably.
You might also receive a reply from a computer mid-communication such as a router or another IP Address. It is important to inspect which IP Address is responding to your ping.
If the computer does answer, it does indicate that computer is on. Users can reject ping requests also.
In Windows XP SP2 you can reject ping requests by configuring ICMP settings in Control Panel->Windows Firewall. See screenshot.
2007-12-08 07:32:14 · answer #2 · answered by blake 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No it just means the computer is on..and that port is accessible to be pinged on....so technically if you didnt get back a ping reply it doesnt necessarily mean the computer isn't on and being used (since the firewall could be preventing you from succeeding in your request)...but your getting a reply means the computer is in fact on...but is someone actually using it? That cannot be said.
2007-12-08 07:20:27 · answer #3 · answered by Questrade Coupon Code 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Pinging Someone
2016-10-18 07:47:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that the IP address is in use.
It does NOT mean that anybody is using the computer which has that IP address - only that that computer is powered on, running the OS and its network is configured.
Unfortunately, without knowing which OS you're talking about, its hard to give any tips for figuring out if a particular computer is actually actively being used.
2007-12-08 07:19:53 · answer #5 · answered by Elana 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
No. It means the computer is turned on and there is power to the network card. PING doesn't tell you anything about the state of the machine except that the hardware is active.
2007-12-08 07:19:49 · answer #6 · answered by The_Doc_Man 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well it means the modem or router is connected not necessarily the computer.
wdw
2007-12-08 07:20:26 · answer #7 · answered by Who Dares Wins 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋