On Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:46:15 -0400, Chris F Clark wrote:

Hi Chris,

Wow again. You are obviously tuned to the realities here.
Thank you again for being cogent and coherent.

I know I will accomplish the desired task (which is simply to change the IP
address nightly automagically with even less effort than I do today) and
with your help, I may soon be able to (and that of kingthorin, Dana, Duane,
etc.).

This is a worthwhile task as once set up, there is absolutely no additional
effort and a measurable gain (for me, but, not for most of you as you don't
have this problem so you don't see the advantages).

All it takes is understanding the system.

Yet, for some strange reason, we're still "discussing" the why so, to give
you the courtesy you extended to me, I'll briefly highlight where we agree
and disagree below ...

> How the NNTP psting host gets added to the post is dependent on the
> software that injects the posting into the newsfeed. This software is
> probably at your ISP

Yes. I learned that from this thread that it was pointless to try to change
my software or my software settings as the ISP always uses my DHCP assigned
IP address as my public NNTP posting host. Sigh. I was wasting my time
changing newsreaders. Thank you all for helping me come to that conclusion.

> If you want to truly change it, you need to either find an
> ISP specific solution, or use a different method of getting your news
> into the newsfeed.

This thread is all about the former and not about the latter. Thank you all
for helping me find an ISP-specific solution to my particular dilemma
(which most of you do not have).

> For example, my ISP does not associate my
> postings with my computer--in fact, it doesn't even know the name, IP,
> or MAC address of my computer.\

Yes. I learned this from most of you on this thread. I appreciate you
informing me of this as I didn't realize that the users' assigned IP
address wasn't broadcast to the while world on every post for most users.
It just is broadcast on all MY posts! I now understand this better, thanks
to all of you.

> I do that for exactly the opposite reason of what you are asking for,
> so that I have a well know address that people can reach me at that
> doesn't change over the years.

Huh? You want the same IP address for years? I guess that's fine if you're
running a web server or an ftp account. But, why not just use the same
identifying name and email address (however bogus) if you want people to
reach you via the usenet nntp newsgroups?

Even if you are running a web server ... isn't the "domain name" sufficient
for people to reach you over the years? I don't see anything wrong with a
constant IP address in this situation ... but why is a constant IP address
for years a requirement?

In fact, 90% of the posters here say the IP address is irrelevant!
So, why do you require the same IP address (which is the real topic here)
for years? This confuses me.

> However, one could use it to get what you want privacy.
Yes. We agree. I want a different IP address each day attached to my posts.
I can keep the same bogus name and email address (I used to use my real
name and address but spammers long ago put an end to that).

Again, you're proving my point (I know you understood). The IP address
isn't what "connects" me to the users. Heck, you've been conversing with me
and I've been changing my IP address every day so far. It hasn't stopped
this conversation (some wish it would though ... :)

> I have also used "free email" addresses to get something closer to the
> anonymity you are seeking. Those are relatively effective.

So have I. I have learned how to get hotmail accounts, for example, in the
first pass, almost every time. (Most people don't know Yak.)

> If they hire a professional to track down your information, you aren't
> likely to be able to get the privacy you desire.

I agree. Time and time (and time) again, I have said that all I am looking
for is a ROI on the ability to not have my assigned IP address plastered
all over the Internet, the same IP address day after day.

Currently I accomplish that task by rebooting the router. If this was a
hugely beneficial thing, I wouldn't mind. But, it's just one small step.
So, THAT is why I'm trying to automate that one small step. To improve the
ROI by lowering the I.

If my experiment (kindly suggested in this newsgroup) of changing the
router settings to dial into the PPPoE account on demand, finally works
tonight, we'll be done!

> If you are cheating on your husband, he will find that information out,
> even if you try to keep it private. Noreover, he will find out not
> via tracking your internet posting IPs. As they say, been there, done
> that.)

I fully agree. You might not be amazed at what I can find out about you in
about two minutes if your address you posted is actually valid - but many
others might be.

Not only can I find out all about you, but all about your neighbors and
their kin. And the layout of your and their house, how many bedrooms,
square feet, when and how much you bought it, and a photo of your back
yard, and, given a few hours, your automobile license plate, where you
work, social security death benefits of your next of kin, photos of your
kids at school, yada yada yada.

This question was never about that.

Understand the whole "husband" thing was merely a made-up example to give
the honest answer to the many questions of "why" without actually giving
out any real private information. Does anyone really think any of the
information in my post, other than the obvious technical data, is real?

End result ... no need to worry about my "husband" ... whomever he may be.

> You keep trying the attention of this thread on how to hide your
> IP/NNTP posting host. You may or may not be able to do that via an
> ISP specific solution. Most DSL modems and routers aren't designed to
> make it easy for you to change their IP address by forcing them to
> renew it. Keeping the IP address constant is an efficiency issue.

Now we're getting to the meat of the issue! Your whole discussion here was
enlightening. It didn't solve the problem; but it helped greatly to
understand the situation and the interesting perspective of the ISP.

> Moorever, your IP may reassign the same IP address when your modem is
> turned back on, if that is convenient to them, and quite likely will
> give you the same address if your modem is off for a sufficiently
> short period of time.

Yep. Both happen all the time. Even more so now that I've set the router to
PPPoE in on demand after a fifteen-minute idle time.

> Note, if your modem has a MAC address, I defintely recommend NOT
> trying to change that. It is quite likely that your ISP keeps a list
> of the valid MAC addresses for the modems connected to its service,
> and only allows those MAC addresses to connect.

Hmmmm... I never even thought about changing the MAC address of the modem
.... hmmmm... :)

> Thus, I wouldn't change the routers MAC address either.

Too late. I changed the router's MAC address multiple times already since
the start of this thread while experimenting on the effects. My ISP hasn't
booted me off yet but there have been no other effects to date.

> However, the key point of all of this, is that if you want your
> postings/email to come from a different address, then do that. Use a
> different way of injecting your eamil/news into the web rather than
> simply posting from your home. However, don't try to achieve that by
> fiddling with your local computers IP address. Wrong solution to the
> problem.

Here, in your final point, we must agree to disagree.
Currently, the only cost of changing the address that associates me with
every post is I have to manually unplug and replug my router.

If the settings recommended by this newsgroup are correct, I won't even
have to do that tomorrow.

So, basically for free (once the settings work automatically), I believe it
is additive to my privacy (in a way that is greater than the investment,
which, over time, approaches zero).

What's wrong with a bunch of little privacy steps, each one of which, over
time, approaches an investment of zero yet which provides, over time, a
constant additive benefit - this just being one of them?