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ARB411: Friends and family – precautions to take if multiple arbers use the same computer or internet connection

If you want to multiply your profits from sports arbitrage by following the path of inviting or encouraging friends and family members to undertake their own sports arbitrage experience AND you happen to be arbing using the same computer or internet connection, then you can inadvertently be limiting the potential profit of the second and subsequent arbers by not taking the precautions in this lesson.

Specifically we are talking about IP addresses, cookies, browser fingerprints and various other means that bookmakers employ to identify connections between professional punters and arbers.

If you are not cleaning your computer and internet connection of such tracking data then you are making it easy for bookmakers to identify and quickly limit arbers who subsequently use your computer or internet connection.

It may be elementary to clear your cookies after each arbing session, but the technology employed by bookmakers nowadays is so advanced that there are significantly more complicated and in-depth techniques you must employ to remove all traces of previous arbers who may have used your internet connection and/or computer.

In this lesson we explain each of these methods in more detail. Sports Arbitrage Australia recommend applying these techniques before lending your computer or internet connection to a friend or family member for their arbing.

  1. IP address

Every time you connect to the internet you are given a unique IP address that identifies your internet connection. Your IP address is publically broadcast and bookmakers can see it.

If two or more punters are found to be operating from the same IP address then it raises a red flag at the bookmaker. Further, if one of those punters was previously identified as a professional punter or arber then the second punter has no chance of delaying betting limits.

The good news for most Australians with an internet connection is that your ISP probably provides you with a ‘dynamic’ IP address, unless you pay more money for a ‘fixed’ one.

If you have a dynamic IP address then every time you disconnect from and reconnect to the internet connection you will be provided with a new (and clean) IP address. In other words, to get a new IP address you simply turn your modem router off and on again.

However, sometimes when you turn your modem router on again your ISP will attempt to give you the same IP address as before, so the best way to avoid this is to switch off your modem router overnight and when you turn it on again in the morning you will more than likely have a new IP address.

After you successfully reconnect to the internet you must check that your IP address has in fact been changed. Sports Arbitrage Australia are not IT gurus so please search the internet yourself for instructions on finding your IP address – Google is your friend.

  1. Cookies

Without getting overly technical, cookies are data parcels deposited on your computer by websites that you visit (read: bookmakers) that track your browsing and then send that information back to their owner. Almost all websites do it, and normally there is nothing sinister about it, but it does allow a bookmaker to identify where multiple punters are using the same computer.

It is recommended to clear your cookies before and after engaging in any arbing. Clearing cookies is something many internet users do and it is a simple process. Again, you will need to search the internet yourself for instructions on clearing cookies on your computer – Google is your friend.

Further, a new advanced technology that some bookmakers have employed is called the ‘supercookie’ or ‘evercookie’. These cookies are harder to find and remove than regular cookies, but a simple internet search will identify many methods for clearing these from your computer too.

  1. Browser fingerprints

This is not the newest technology on the block, but some bookmakers collect a large amount of data from your computer behind the scenes which can uniquely identify your computer just like fingerprints.

The data collected is vast and can include your browsing history, plugins, fonts, installed software, themes etc. The concept is that no two computers will have exactly the same combination of programs installed. While this is obviously not fool-proof, the idea behind bookmakers using this technique is that your computer can be narrowed down to, say, “1-in-200” possible computers across the globe that have the same software/data combination.

If new bookmaker accounts are registered and have the same “1-in-200” browser fingerprint as a previous punter’s computer, then it is probable that both punter accounts were created using the same computer, and red flags are raised immediately.

There is no hiding your browser fingerprint from bookmakers who seek to collect that information. Therefore the only possible way to combat this tracking technique is to make your computer as generic as possible. Make yourself “1-in-100,000,000” possible computers across the globe.

The way to do this is to disable flash, java, plugins, and remove all non-standard software, fonts and other unnecessary data from your computer. In fact, the ideal solution is to have a separate computer just for arbing and put nothing but the bare basics on that computer – just the operating system and an internet browser.

Virtual machines

The ideal method for avoiding bookmaker tracking technologies and delay identification as an arber is to use of a completely separate arbing-only computer that implements the above techniques, however not everyone can afford or justify the expense of an additional machine.

Accordingly, in the next lesson we introduce the procedure for installing and using Virtual Machines on a computer to enable arbers with multiple individuals using their computer to implement the above techniques properly without the cost of additional hardware.