Index » Tech help » Why are there 2 versions of my IP? (Atom feed)
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Member
I will report my post with 2 seperate versions of my IP (as I trust you with them but do not want to make them public) and do you know why different websites log my IP as different things?
Administrator
That is because of the IPv4/IPv6 addressing schemes. Some websites only take IPv4 addresses (the 4 numbers separated by dots), while newer networks also accept IPv6 addresses (the longer one with the colons). IPv6 was created as a measure to help prevent the internet from running out of addresses (there are only 256^4, or around 4 billion IPv4 addresses available), but it has not been universally adopted yet.
Member
When I was 12 that was one of my nightmares :P
But it'd be a great April Fools day joke
Oh, but Wikipedia has one and the infosphere has the other. And my IP changes approx once every 2 months, and sometimes it's only v4 and others I see both v4 and v6
Member
Which one does your admin thinywobber say I'm connecting from? v4 or v6? (Don't post the IP plz but just say which type)
Member
Also, what about things like 192.168.*.* or 127.0.0.1 -- what's preventing someone's real IP from being those things?
Administrator
I'm seeing your IPv6 address, though I have seen your IPv4 address in other locations, and they both map to the same ISP.
Those are local IP addresses, reserved for identifying stuff on a local network. Those usually identify a single device within the network, while the IP seen by websites is given to your building's connection as a whole.
Member
I know that, but what's preventing the "building's connection as a whole"'s IP from being that?
Why? Do only some IPs have an attached v6?
Administrator
I know that, but what's preventing the "building's connection as a whole"'s IP from being that?
Why? Do only some IPs have an attached v6?
The building as a whole can't have an IP. Those addresses are reserved for private space and therefore ISPs won't assign them.
I don't exactly know why this is happening. It probably is something your ISP is doing.
Member
But what'd happen if an ISP did it anyway?
Administrator
The networking equipment probably just wouldn't work properly and the building wouldn't be able to do anything. However, since no ISP would do that, this isn't something we need to worry about.
Member
Ok, thanks for answering all of my stupid questions and putting up with me for 2 years :P
Index » Tech help » Why are there 2 versions of my IP? (Atom feed)
Pages: 1