On 28 Sep 2005 07:52:23 -0700, apngss@yahoo.com wrote:

5 newsgroups crossposted. I guess a shotgun is more effective at
target practice.

>I want to ask who assigns the IP address to a machine that connects to
>the Internet? The ISP, the network card (i.e. MAC address??), or the
>router?

The limited supply of IP addresses were originally assigned by the net
gods. Through a covenant with various governments, the IANA was
empowered to distribute these IP's to the various ISP's in accordance
to an ordeal process which includes much petitioning, grovelling,
begging, and the inscription of forms. Your ISP then delivers unto
the multitudes a single IP address, which you are entitled to borrow
for the duration of your connection. Be thankful that they even have
IP's to give out.

>It seems like my IP address is fixed everytime connected to the
>Internet,

Better to have it fixed than to have it broken.

> it seems very unsecure because it allows hackers track the
>computers more easily.

No problem. Dive into your router and change the MAC address on the
"Clone MAC address" page. You can select almost any number you find
useful except that of the ISP gateway. Every time your change your
MAC address, disconnect, and reconnect, you'll get a new IP address.
Of course, this will drive your ISP's logs up the wall and suggest
that you're doing something evil and nefarious such as trying to hide
your tracks as a spammist. It will also cause him to perhaps run out
of available IP's as your previous IP addresses won't expire for quite
some time. Be prepared to get yelled at by your ISP.

>I thought the IP address should be dynamic, and each time when we
>connect to the Internet should have different IP address.

It can be. Some ISP's do that. However, it's usually not because
they are trying to enhance your security. It's because they simply
don't have enough IP's to handle all their customers and recycle them
often to other users. The limiting factor is the duration of the ARP
cache, which maps your MAC address to your IP address. You can see it
in Windoze if you run:
Start -> Run -> cmd<enter>
arp -a
Ping a few boxes and watch the numbers appear and disappear. To keep
the IP's stable, most ISP's run their ARP cache timeout at least 24
hours or more.

>Is there a way that makes the IP address in my machine becomes dynamic?
>
>Please advise. thanks!!

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
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