How does a website "know" which country I am in ?

Question

How does a website "know" which country I am in ?

Hi everyone,

occasionally I discover a website (usually US TV-Series sites) that won't let me access its contend as ".. pages are intended for access only from within the United States ... ".

The questions:
- How does the website "know" from which country I am (I am currently based in Germany but use the english system for years now) ?
- Is there a way to hide that info ?

Thanks a lot in advance,
Chris

N.B.
The last website given me that message is:
http://www.sho.com/site/huff/home.do

Posted on Oct 29, 2005 3:33 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Tom Graves

Level 7

20,627 points

Oct 29, 2005 6:29 AM in response to Christian Fessel

They can tell where you are from by your IP address. This is the same method some web sites use to through up an ad mentioning your town or city. Take a look here to find out your IP address and more.

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Answer 2

Oct 29, 2005 6:48 AM in response to Tom Graves

Hi Tom,
This http://www.whatismyipaddress.com/ website is amazing. It gives you not only the IP address, but also the hostname, the user agent, and has a very pedagogical FAQ service too. Thanks!

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Answer 3

OmegaOSX

Level 2

285 points

Oct 29, 2005 6:49 AM in response to Christian Fessel

You could look for a US proxy. This will mean the website will think you are 'American'

Maybe someone here might know of one.

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Answer 4

Oct 29, 2005 6:59 AM in response to Tom Graves

Thanks, Tom,

that you can pinpoint to the location of the computer by using the IP was new to me.
I did a research immediately and, yes, even my dynamic IP points right down to the part of the town I am in now.

Thanks a lot for that info.
Chris

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Answer 5

Tom Graves

Level 7

20,627 points

Oct 29, 2005 1:59 PM in response to Christian Fessel

You are very welcome. I remember the first time (before popup blockers) when I got a popup ad telling me how to find hotels and restaurants in the city near where I live.

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Answer 6

Tom Graves

Level 7

20,627 points

Oct 29, 2005 2:00 PM in response to Pink Panther

You're welcome. At one time I had a site that would give you all that info plus your geographic location on one screen, but I have lost track of it. But Whatismyipaddress is a good site.

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