In article >,
sf > wrote:

> On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 11:24:29 -0500, ~patches~ wrote:
>
> > I think though that people need to
> > know they can be identified through their IP address and that they
> > cannot expect privacy when using mIRC.
>
> An IP address does not identify a singular user. It pinpoints the
> ISP. Period.


Who's period?


:-)


When we got DSL, back before dirt was invented, we got a block of IP
addresses. They are ours, and nobody else can use them. That was a
good thing, but I don't remember why. I'm not sure it is good anymore.
There are some good reasons to have static IP addresses, but none of
them apply to us right now at home. I didn't understand why I didn't
need to specify an IP address for the last three computers we installed
at home. Turns out that there is a DHCP server, and it hands out
whichever of the four aren't currently in use at the time.

When I worked, I had a static IP address at work. We used DHCP, but the
server was instructed to always give me the same IP address. When I
accessed certain remote databases, the firewall checked my IP address
before it would let me in. We had employees and consultants who worked
from home. If they didn't have a static IP address, they couldn't get
in.

If you have dialup, or dynamic IP assignment, then you are assigned an
IP address from your ISP pretty much at random. Still, that *is* your
IP address as long as you are logged in.

--
Dan Abel

Petaluma, California, USA