IP-Address

[Lars]

Hi

Is there any way you can track the IP-Address of the user is using for the
connection.

I need to track from what countries the installer come and count unique
users. The numbers will be scrammbled so I can't track back what user
installed what. I need to check how many real installation my advertisers
generate so I can see if it make sence advertising ot not.

Fields in the data table should be some thing like

IP (Scrambled)
==
To see if Jhone Doe or Jane Doe installed the program before.

Affiliate
=========
This reprecent one of our partner such as CNet (Download.com) or one of our
400+ partners we know advertise our programs.

Date
====
The date the program was installed, if installed twice this date will be
updated.

DownloadedFrom
==============
From where the install was download. This is hard coded into the actual
insatll file.

Relelease
=========
What release number that was installe. This is very important for us. We
need to see how many that are using old verison that are used.

Product
=======
What product are used.



As good custom, no personal information what so ever is collected and when
it comes to statistics we only use agregated information. With the use of
pseudo random number generated scrambled IP addresses there's no way we can
back track the IP number. We only need to know if the installer has
installed any product before us. We do all that to check our partners so
that they generate money for us in accordance to the number of users. We
don't want to pay several time for a user that downloads and install the
program 100s of times.


Lars

 

[bruce barker]

this will not work. most of your users will be using an isp or company proxy.
this means their ipaddress is nat'd (one of the proxy's external ipaddress is
used instead of theirs). there are two results from this:

1) the users ipaddress can change between page requests.
2) two different users can have the same ipaddress.

also unless ipaddresses are static, using dhcp can change the ipaddress.

in general you can get the country from the ipaddress unless they are using
a stealth proxy (pretty common).

-- bruce (sqlwork.com)

 

[Lars]

Hi

When using APache on linux it was possible to do so. In fact of all million
requests I got none was with an ip address starting with "192" or "192.168".
Isn't this mainly up to the server.

Of course DHCP can change IP addresses but that will not be such a big
issue.

The easiest would be to create a pswudo random number on the users computer
and then upload the scambled number. But since it is a pseudo random number
this isn't legal as far as I know. Some thing with a new complicated EU law.
Simplified you're not allowed to track how many times a specific user
installs a program. That's why I have to use the IP number and create a
pseudo number. I fsome one would get the hold of the very same computer as a
user and test it on another page they should not be able to track if a
program was installed or not.

The alternative is of course to use the affiliate id's for my affiliate but
that will generate many double installs. Simply an affiliate could install
the program several time to count new installs. Or if a use installs the
program several time, for me it would be impossible to see if it is a new
user or not. As I said, the reason to do this is to track how many of the
downloads from sites like www.download.com that generated new install. Since
I'm paid per install it's very important to know this since I pay ads per
downloads not installs.

Does any one else has an idea how to track unique installs without
infringing with the users privacy. The number generated could be or rather
sould be a pseudo random number that I should be able to recreate even if I
got the hld of the very same computer.

One reason for the new law as far as I know is that Microsoft and other
should not be able to trackhow many times "I" install a program. To demand
as some manufactors does namely demand that the user register using the
computers harddrive number hashed along with the serial number of the
product is as far as I know now legal. This is a real pain in the but for
all adware companies that pay partners per installed product.


Lars