Computer experts, I need help

10-28-03 | Republican Extremist

[Republican Extremist]

I have a few questions concerning IP addresses, and am fairly ignorant in these areas. I understand that I have a dynamic IP address through Bellsouth.net. Dynamic means that it changes daily. I have noticed that the first two numbers of the address never change, and that they have something to do with my geographic location. A certain website, which I will leave unamed has banned my IP address, and tells me when I try to register that the IP is banned. How can they ban my IP when it changes every day? Are they just banning the first two numbers? If so, aren't they banning everyone in my area as well?

I asked Bellsouth to change the first two numbers of my address, and they say it can't be done. Is this the case?

What am I missing here?

[End Times Sentinel]

DU is banning IP addresses now, eh? 

 

I may need to find a new hobby...

 

 

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

[BrooklynGOP]

How can they ban my IP when it changes every day? Are they just banning the first two numbers?

Probably more then two. When you ban somebody you can use wildcards.

If so, aren't they banning everyone in my area as well?

Everyone whose ip matches whatever they are banning.

I asked Bellsouth to change the first two numbers of my address, and they say it can't be done. Is this the case?

Yup. That's the case.

[martin_fierro]

Try accessing the site by first going to Anonymizer. See if it'll let you in then.

[brewcrew]

Why must it remain unnamed? You gotta make this a little fun here. Otherwise you're gonna get a whole bunch of people telling you to call tech support.

[general_re]

Martin beat me to it. A good proxy server - a set of them, for the next time you get banned, anyway ;) - will let you get right back up and running. Anonymizer is one, google for "anonymous proxy servers" for more...

[Spruce]

To put it simple, an IP address consists of 2 parts. the first part is the 'Network' your system belongs to. The second is the 'Node', or your computer. While it is possible to have a different 'Node' address, you will always be part of the same 'Network' until you change ISP.

Hence it is possible to block not only individual nodes, but whole networks.

[avenuesalan]

You had better talk to Bell South about this problem. They own a block of addresses. It is not based on the location of the users. It sounds like they got blacklisted somehow regarding their entire block of addresses. They either need to appeal to the website that is banning you, or you need to find another internet access provider or get ok with being banned from that site.

[yhwhsman]

If you're using a cable modem (don't know about DSL) your IP Address will stay the same until the cable modem gets turned off somehow. At least that's how it works on Road Runner. When the power comes back on, the modem searches for an available address. Sometimes you get the same one, sometimes it changes.

Does it ban you no matter what IP Address you have?

[Republican Extremist]

Nope, it wouldn't let me register, without buying their software.

That's an interesting site, though. Is that used in lieu of of my regular portal?

[Free_at_last_-2001]

I asked Bellsouth to change the first two numbers of my address, and they say it can't be done. Is this the case? Unless you change ISP. From what I believe to be the case this ISP will have a range of ip addresses from 216.77.118.0 - 216.77.118.254 or more but for them the first two 216.77 remain the same. So if they do not own different numbers they cannot assign them to you, you could probably use a free dialup to access this site if you really want to.

[Republican Extremist]

Yes, it bans me with every IP address change so far, but the first two digits have never changed. (68)

[John Jorsett]

You probably have what's called a "class B" IP address. That means the first two numbers (known as the network number) are assigned to BellSouth by the internet authorities (I've just drawn a blank on remembering the name of the organization that controls this. It'l come back to me one second after I click "post" no doubt), and they can assign the second two to their customers at their discretion. That's why they can't change them for you. Sounds like the site banned all IPs that have BellSouth's network number, which is pretty extreme. There are potential workarounds, like using proxies, but it's a hassle and pretty much something that only a techie would get right without help.

[Republican Extremist]

I doubt they would have blocked an entire network. Is their anything else that is identifying me to the site that I could be unaware of?

[GrandEagle]

bump - future reference

[John Jorsett]

Nope, it wouldn't let me register, without buying their software.

Anonymizer can be used free by putting in the site URL in the box in the upper right, where it says "Free PrivateSurfing."

[Nightmare]

The name of the site is? That may be part of the problem.

[sourcery]

From the Webopedia:

Every computer that communicates over the Internet is assigned an IP address that uniquely identifies the device and distinguishes it from other computers on the Internet. An IP address consists of 32 bits, often shown as 4 octets of numbers from 0-255 represented in decimal form instead of binary form. For example, the IP address

168.212.226.204

in binary form is

10101000.11010100.11100010.11001100.

But it is easier for us to remember decimals than it is to remember binary numbers, so we use decimals to represent the IP addresses when describing them. However, the binary number is important because that will determine which class of network the IP address belongs to. An IP address consists of two parts, one identifying the network and one identifying the node, or host. The Class of the address determines which part belongs to the network address and which part belongs to the node address. All nodes on a given network share the same network prefix but must have a unique host number.

Class A Network -- binary address start with 0, therefore the decimal number can be anywhere from 1 to 126. The first 8 bits (the first octet) identify the network and the remaining 24 bits indicate the host within the network. An example of a Class A IP address is 102.168.212.226, where "102" identifies the network and "168.212.226" identifies the host on that network.

Class B Network -- binary addresses start with 10, therefore the decimal number can be anywhere from 128 to 191. (The number 127 is reserved for loopback and is used for internal testing on the local machine.) The first 16 bits (the first two octets) identify the network and the remaining 16 bits indicate the host within the network. An example of a Class B IP address is 168.212.226.204 where "168.212" identifies the network and "226.204" identifies the host on that network.

Class C Network -- binary addresses start with 110, therefore the decimal number can be anywhere from 192 to 223. The first 24 bits (the first three octets) identify the network and the remaining 8 bits indicate the host within the network. An example of a Class C IP address is 200.168.212.226 where "200.168.212" identifies the network and "226" identifies the host on that network.

Class D Network -- binary addresses start with 1110, therefore the decimal number can be anywhere from 224 to 239. Class D networks are used to support multicasting.

Class E Network -- binary addresses start with 1111, therefore the decimal number can be anywhere from 240 to 255. Class E networks are used for experimentation. They have never been documented or utilized in a standard way.

[HEY4QDEMS]

Depending on your subnet mask, the first 1, 2, or 3 octets of your IP address represent your network address, and the last 1,2, or 3 octets represent your node address.
A dynamic IP is one that is assigned to your node via a DHCP host, it doesn't have to change, it usually does though because the lease expires and when it is renewed, the IP you may have had is unavailable, if your IP from yesterday is not assigned to another computer, you will more than likely receive that same address again as this will result in less overhead for the DNS servers on your ISP's network.

Your network address will not change and that is why your ISP can't change that for you.
BTW your IP network address is not a Geographic designation.

Assuming that this website does not wish to ban an entire network, I would try logging off of the internet, renaming your computer, and release your IP address with the IPCONFIG command, you can also use the same command to renew your lease, reboot the computer and reconnect to your ISP.

[js1138]

I doubt they would have blocked an entire network. Is their anything else that is identifying me to the site that I could be unaware of?

Yes, a cookie on your machine that the web site reads every time you attempt to log on or browse.