i understood it quite fine, thanx.
so if you're using a firewall, people can't identify your ip address? (unless they are mods or admins)
nice to know, thanx.
If you use a firewall it is highly unlikely anyone will be able to see you on the network or internet...
that is until you interact with another computer on a network...ie if you browse the internet, ftp etc your IP address will be collected in any of the visited site's log files.
if someone posts a message on a forum, you will almost always get an IP address as there has to be interaction between you and the forum
the upshot is that most people have their IP addresses collected by someone when they are browsing
alternatively you can use a proxy server, ie you connect via a specific server on the net which has been set up so that only the IP address of the proxy computer is shown and not your IP address...basically, the proxy server hides your details...there are down sides to using a proxy, like slower browsing etc
there are probably ways to spoof your IP address but thats beyond my knowledge...