![]() IPv4 addresses are a scarce resource (ISPs are assigned blocks of IP addresses & get new blocks allocated to them as the previous block gets used up) so ISPs try to make the most of them by reusing them as much as possible. The IP server has this info so it knows to reassign the same IP address after a reconnect. For a fee, the ISP will assign a static IP address (it stays the same) for a given location, usually for commercial entities but individuals can also purchase them. Based on server software, it may turn out to be the same IP address that you previously had if it hasn’t already been reallocated to someone else. That means that every time you “disconnect” from the ISP (like shutting down your PC) & then reconnect, another IP address is assigned by the server. The general rule is that all assigned IP addresses are dynamic for a given session. Most if not all have a dedicated server for this task including log files as Leo noted. Having worked as a telecom consultant for over 26 years I’m familiar with how ISPs allocate IP addresses. ![]() Typically ISPs and law enforcement must be involved. Important privacy practices prevent that level of detail from being available to the general public. The reality is, an IP address does uniquely identify a connection to the internet, and that information can be used to determine a physical location. ISPs are important gatekeepers of that privacy. Since your computer’s IP address is available whenever you use the internet, you don’t want someone random to use it to locate you. While it’s certainly important that IP address locations be available when needed, privacy is also an important concern. Fortunately, many locations are passing laws that address these situations more directly and allow law enforcement to trace offenders. As long as the activity is technically “legal”, there’s little that can be done to trace the offender. This puts those victims of cyberbullying and other forms of online harassment at a disadvantage. If there’s nothing to suggest a crime has been committed, then in theory even law enforcement cannot get the information. Typically 2, that means that law enforcement professionals go to a judge and provide evidence of reasonable cause that a crime has been committed, at which point the judge issues an order compelling the ISP to release the information. Police and the courts can, with appropriate cause, request or even demand the location connected to an IP address. That’s why you may be able to identify the ISP involved and nothing more.įor more, you need help. ![]() Most ISPs adhere to a strict privacy policy that prevents them from disclosing that information. The ISP that “owns” the IP address assigned to your computer also knows where you live that’s where they send your bill or hook up the wires. Some additional information might be available to indicate the area where the IP address resides, but that is rarely more specific than what country, or perhaps what city, it’s in. Public information about an IP address tells you which ISP provides it, and not much else. Television and movie dramas lead us to believe that given an IP address, a criminal can be located in minutes. While technically inaccurate, the best way to think of it is that IP addresses are assigned at the whim of the ISP providing the internet connection. ![]() Even if you do use the same ISP, there are no rules or practices that would make your IP addresses appear “close” to one another. For example, the IP address assigned to your computer at home will be radically different than the one assigned to your neighbor next door if you use different ISPs. IP addresses are based on your internet service provider, not on where you are. Much like your mailing address identifies the physical location of your mailbox and tells your mail carrier where to deliver your mail, a device’s IP address tells the internet where to send the data destined for your computer.īut while an IP address is like a physical address, it’s important to realize that it isn’t one. They are used to route data between devices. It’s certainly not easy, and depending on who you are, it may not even be possible.Īn IP (or “Internet Protocol”) address is the unique number assigned to every device connected to a network. There’s a common misconception that it’s easy to trace an IP address to the computer to which it’s assigned, and be able to identify the computer’s location.
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