Search Again: Re: encrypting URLs From: Johan Solve Date: Friday, January 14, 2000 Time: 6:29:00 am This is definitely browser specific = not a practical idea. >Thank you for the IP encoding explanation and the formula that makes it work. As I understand it algebraically an IP address of "a.b.c.d" would be calculated at >( (a*16777216) + (b*65536) + (c*256) + (d) > >I am, naturally, still confused about why that would work in someone's browser. In practice I have been unable to reach addresses encoded this way from my Mac but have had no problem getting there using a friend's PC. Is this platform or browser specific or a server issue or a dns configuration issue or a virtual hosting issue or is it VooDoo? > > > >>At 1:33 PM -0800 1/12/2000, Erich K. wrote: >>>Does anyone have an idea about how one would go about hiding the >>>actual URL of a web site when that url is published and still have >>>the url resolve to the proper domain? >>> >>>For whatever reason , I have a client who wants to build a site >>>that shows an encrypted URL in the browser's address/location bar. >>>Don't fret, the content is legal and wholesome but privacy/anonymity >>>is a paramount concern. >>> >>>I can understand how this might be accomplished on the server-side >>>using something like Welcome. What l don't understand, is how one >>>can click on a link to a published url like >>>http://576765736/abc/index.html and have it arrive at >>>http://www.theactualaddress.com/index.html >>> >>>I've seen urls like this in spam I get but haven't a clue how they work. >>> >>>Does this have to happen on the client side or is there some miracle >>>of DNS manipulation involved? >> >>This is an odd one; it doesn't have anything to do with DNS. Here's >>how it works: >> >>"www.theactualaddress.com" resolves to an IP address, such as >>192.168.0.1. An IP address is normally represented by a series of >>four decimal numbers between 0 and 255, called "octets" for the fact >>that each equates to a binary number with 8 digits. The IP address is >>actually a 32-bit integer. The 4-octet (4x8-bit) representation is >>simply an easier way to read it. So 192.168.0.1 can be translated to >> ((1 * 256^0) + (0 * 256^1) + (168 * 256^2) + (192 * 256^3)), or >> ((1 * 1) + (0 * 256) + (168 * 65536) + (192 * 16777216)), or >> (1 + 0 + 11010048 + 3221225472), or >> 3232235520 >> >>You could probably use WebSTAR's Virtual Hosts manager to recognize >>when the address has been written in decimal (as a virtual hostname) >>to route such requests to whatever root folder you want. You could >>also use Welcome to alter the path as indicated above, removing the >>"abc". >>____________________________________________________________________ >>Chris Buxton cbuxton@menandmice.com >>Men & Mice http://www.menandmice.com >>Makers of: QuickDNS Pro

Messages In This Thread: Re: encrypting URLs by Johan Solve on Jan 14, 2000 at 6:29:00 am