Binding a socket to any address other than localhost?

[vocal citrus]

What exactly is the meaning of binding a socket to any address other than the localhost? will the machine with the address i bind the socket with, will have a socket bind on it?

I've searched online and closest I've found was this question:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/39314086/what-does-it-mean-to-bind-a-socket-to-any-address-other-than-localhost
Unfortunately the answer was not very useful.

[hazy summit]

When your question is answered use !solved to mark the question as resolved.

Remember to ask specific questions, provide necessary details, and reduce your question to its simplest form. For more information use !howto ask.

[jaunty urchin]

consider a machine with more than one network card in it. it can have more than one ip address. for example: take any laptop with both wifi and ethernet. it could be at the same time connected to two different networks or even the same network under two separate ip addresses, once via wifi and once via ethernet…

you can bind the socket to a specific ip address so that it'll only receive stuff sent to that particular address

[urban geode]

So if I am connected to someone's network. Can't I just take his packets?

[jaunty urchin]

?

[urban geode]

If I use the address of someone else's machine, can't I just receive his packets?

[jaunty urchin]

no

at least not in general

[urban geode]

Thanks🙏🏻

[vocal citrus]

!solved

[hazy summit]

Thank you and let us know if you have any more questions!

[SOLVED] Binding a socket to any address other than localhost?

[hazy summit]

@vocal citrus

This question thread is being automatically marked as solved.