[Novalug] Is hiding your IP address foolproof?

Chuck Frain linux@chuckfrain.net
Fri Oct 11 10:48:15 EDT 2013


What is the concern about exposing your IP address? Presumably the
traffic between you and your broker is encrypted so the trades are
unknown. Adding in a VPN provider means adding in another layer of 'who
can I trust'. What is to say that the VPN provider is not a shady actor
running something like sslstrip or similar?

The chain of those you must trust just to put a trade in with your
upstream broker after a quick thought would be (not including other
software programs running on clients/servers/hardware mentioned) and
this is not including what happens and who you must trust after it
leaves their systems:

The provider of the trading client software you use.
The potential VPN provider's software
The provider of your host OS.
The provider of your router firmware.
The connection between your outbound internet to the ISP.
The connection from your ISP to the ISP of the potential VPN provider.
The potential VPN provider's router
The software running the VPN servers
The VPN software itself
The connection from the potential VPN provider out to their ISP.
Their ISP to your broker's ISP
The broker's ISP to the broker
The broker's router firmware.
The broker's network to their trading servers.
The trading server's OS
The trading server software itself

Yes, a bad actor knowing your IP address gives them a point of attack,
but that just means that you have to have a secure environment for your
trading system(s) which you should have already.

If high speed trading is the concern, you must worry first and foremost
about your upstream broker before all else. After all, what is to
prevent them from taking the trade you send them, holding it for 1
second while their high speed system processes a trade in the mean time
that increases their fee from your purchase/sale? Or they hold it for
30 seconds to see if there is some trend from other traders acting at
the same time for them to take advantage of? 

What makes you think you can trust them, other than 'I have to'?


On Thu, 10 Oct 2013, James (Jim) Darlack wrote:

>  I am looking at blocking the big trading companies, that are external to my broker.  Im not concerned about my own broker.
>  
> When you refer "they", is that the brokers other than my broker?
> 
> 
> 
> On Thursday, October 10, 2013 8:55 PM, Chuck Frain <linux@chuckfrain.net> wrote:
>   
> You do realize the flaw in your plan is they can track your stats via the account(s) you use, which presumably has your real info tied to it. 
> On Oct 10, 2013 10:40 PM, "James (Jim) Darlack" <jmdarlack@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Friends,
> >  
> > Im interested in hiding my IP address.  I'm a day trader in the stock market, and do not want the big time electronic traders to keep statistics on me.  Probably it is against the law for them to do so, however, high speed trading is a reality using super computers, and it is rather apparent how they run up/down the stock prices, hunting for the little players, such as moi.
> >  
> > Hence, Im interested in  placing Linux as the base O/S, or in a separate PC, to constantly hide my true IP address.  I have seen commercial software to select the country to fake your IP address.
> >  
> > Is there a freeware Linux tool to use?
> >  
> > Can the average person, some how look the fake IP and determine the real IP address?
> >  
> > Is tools to fake an IP address costly in terms of resources?
> >  
> > If you use a fake IP address, are you at the mercy of the fake IP address's internet providers speed?
> >  
> > Also, any advice, or other methods, are appreciated.
> >  
> > Tucson Jim, refusing to let my mind retire.
> >  
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Novalug mailing list
> > Novalug@calypso.tux.org
> > http://calypso.tux.org/mailman/listinfo/novalug
> >
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Novalug mailing list
> Novalug@calypso.tux.org
> http://calypso.tux.org/mailman/listinfo/novalug

-- 
Chuck Frain 
GPG Key: B2420431
http://www.chuckfrain.net



More information about the Novalug mailing list