Do websites, like youtube, know that you are downloading fro

[Waldo]

Is youtube able to keep track of your ip address if you use flashgot?

[therube]

In simplest terms, they have to know your IP (just as with everyone who you connect to) or else you would receive nothing back for your efforts.
Knowing your IP, then can then link your IP with the file you've watched/downloaded. (If they do that would be another question.)

Looking at a sample link, Ghost Rider - BusaTurbo:

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http://v7.lscache5.c.youtube.com/videoplayback?ip=0.0.0.0&sparams=id%2Cexpire%2Cip%2Cipbits%2Citag%2Calgorithm%2Cburst%2Cfactor&fexp=900650%2C905605&algorithm=throttle-factor&itag=34&ipbits=0&burst=40&sver=3&expire=1267084800&key=yt1&signature=4C25C26BB53563959C1111C2507C23321017CB65.57FFB97949F6AA2EDA1B5396A52249AE902C51BB&factor=1.25&id=b9dfe05cf08c503c&

As you can see, there is what looks to be an "IP" (ip=0.0.0.0) that ends up as part of the URL. It this case it is meaningless. But who knows? Maybe with the right file or the right referrer or ???, there will be something there? And as mentioned earlier, even without that in the URL, if they wanted, they could still track you (matching an IP to a file).

In the same way, when you download a file, you could (likely are) transmitting referrer information to the download site. (You can force a "dumy" referrer in FlashGot Options | Privacy.)

[therube]

Knowing your IP, then can then link your IP with the file you've watched/downloaded. (If they do that would be another question.)

As you can see, there is what looks to be an "IP" (ip=0.0.0.0) that ends up as part of the URL. It this case it is meaningless. But who knows?

Rapidshare Terminates Accounts of Illegal Downloaders

"For many years Rapidshare was considered to be a safe way for people to download copyrighted content without having to face repercussions. Recently, however, the company has been actively going after users that upload or download copyrighted files through the service by terminating accounts and logging IP-addresses for legal purposes. ..."

[privacy and googleapis]

Sorry for posting a question to an old thread, but I found nowhere else a hint to solve my doubt.
I understand that by simply visiting a web site, you are submitting your ip address and the web site can track you. Nothing wrong with that.
But if you need to log in to that web site to access your account and do something, for example a language course at www.busuu.com
AND if busuu.com requires you to allow googleapis to show the login pop down window, does it mean that googleapis knows that you (your ip address) have visited that specific web site?
That would pose a certain threat to your privacy, since Google can easily match your ip address with all sites requiring googleapis that you have visited in the past. There are a few of them, you know.
Dummy question? --> sorry about that...
Greetings from Italy
Luca

[Giorgio Maone]

AND if busuu.com requires you to allow googleapis to show the login pop down window, does it mean that googleapis knows that you (your ip address) have visited that specific web site?

Yes it does.
Even if the library doesn't contain code to specifically do that (i.e. to log document.URL to a remote site), you're still sending your IP (unavoidable) and the REFERER HTTP header, which contains the URL of the current document.
To prevent the latter, you can use the RefContorl add-on, like I do.

[privacy and googleapis]

I installed the add on.
Thanks for your reply!
Luca