Can two people have the same IP #'S 1

[enonemoose]

Can two people on the same forum have the same IP #'s

 

[jimbopalmer]

IP addresses actually on the internet are unique.

There are 3 ranges of IP addresses reserved for private networks that are used frequently behind NAT routers
10.0.0.1 through 10.255.255.254 (10/8)
172.16.0.1 through 172.31.255.254 (172.16/12)
192.168.0.1 through 192.168.255.254 (192.168/16)

These addresses should never appear on the internet, but are common on private networks attached to the internet.

If two employees of a company are on the same forum, they may both have the same public IP, the same for residents of the same house.

An almost infinite number of people can have the same private IP, just not on the same private network.

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[jimbopalmer]

Many ISP have dynamic pools of public IP addresses they hand out to customers. While no two customers can have the same IP address at the same time, over time many customers of that ISP may have a given IP address.

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[Grenage]

Or two users are using the same connection, in which case the same public IP address would be logged.

Carlsberg don't run I.T. departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[marias11]

You can use NAT to enable users to share an IP address.

Maria Santella

http://www.icpdas-usa.com

Technical Sales Engineer

 

[PedalSteel]

> Can two people on the same forum have the same IP #'s

As I understand it, the usual situation is that your ISP assigns you an IP Address dynamically each time you connect, presumably from a pool of IPAs permanently assigned to that ISP. That means that you will be using an IPA previously used by another ISP customer, but the same IPA will never be in use simultaneously by more than one connection.

Is this how it works?

If so, how can websites such as Messageboards truthfully claim to be able to uniquely identify individual computers just by looking at an IPA? I've seen this claim made many times.

Is it something to do with the MAC address? Is the MAC address of a computer and/or router visible to visited websites? Which prompts another question -- is the MAC address really unique?

 

[jimbopalmer]

Your MAC Address has two parts the first 6 digits are assigned to a given vendor. The next 6 digits are assigned BY a vendor. If the vendor has bad quality control, duplicates can be made.

Additionally, the ability to edit/duplicate MAC IDs in software ensures duplicates.

When I ban folks by IP address, the whole house/company gets kicked off. (my bans last a maximum of 30 minutes)


I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[PedalSteel]

> When I ban folks by IP address, the whole house/company gets kicked off. (my bans last a maximum of 30 minutes)

Are you saying that there is no sure way to identify a particular computer, or even a particular router, from the website end?

Are MAC addresses visible at the website end?

 

[jimbopalmer]

From my web site I can see User ID, IP address, and Domain of a poster.

If the user catches on when I ban his user ID, I am not inclined to ban his IP.

If he makes a new user ID, and continues to behaved inappropriately, then I ban by IP address. This takes out all users on the same router.

If he releases and renews to get a new IP I take out his entire subnet, up to 253 other locations suffer for his idiocy.

Only once have I banned an entire domain name, after that I kicked it upstairs to make his ban permanent instead of my measly 30 minutes ban.

I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[PedalSteel]

> If he releases and renews to get a new IP I take out his entire subnet, up to 253 other locations suffer for his idiocy.

Thanks for relating your experiences, Jimbo. It gives me an appreciation of the web I didn't have before.

However -- and this question is really why I joined this thread in the first place -- how do you know that it's he that releases and renews? Without knowing "his" MAC, "he" could be anybody. Right?

If so, anybody on his subnet could be causing the suffering.

(And, as you said, even "his" MAC is not a guarantee that it's "him", given that MACs can be edited.)

 

[jimbopalmer]

If he behaves by our rules when he returns, I am not trying to punish him, I just want polite chat.

Chatting style is not hard to recognize however, and I usually still know who he is. Some seem compelled to tell their friends they are cheating the system, and sadly, some are unable to type online without profanity, so they miss the celebrity they came to see.

"World Without Borders (WWB) is a happy well lit place and our volunteer GCS (Global Community Staff) works to keep it so, using the Mickey Mouse Rule; "If Mickey won't say it then it isn't appropriate for the public chat room". We have a family type atmosphere here and don't allow foul language, illegal activities, harassment, bigotry and obscene conduct, period. In short, play nice.

Should you opt not to play nice or abide by the Rules of the Road, a GCS member will issue you a warning and may escort you out. WWB also reserves the right to terminate your account."


I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.