Public IP address determination

My mom's Win98 SE computer is connected directly (no router, hub, or switch)
to her broadband cable modem. Her ISP is suddenlink.com . Their website
claims they provide dynamic IP addresses rather than static ones, which I
believe is somewhat uncommon for cable ISP's .

While she has an internet connection, will c:\windows\ipconfig.exe report
her
public IP address ? I need to know her public IP address so I can use
Remote Administrator to connect to her computer through the internet .

I have used R.A. to connect to my home computers from work, but there
are routers at each end, and I know how to find the public IP's in that
situation .

Joe




Joe Johnston

On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 21:32:15 -0500, "Joe Johnston"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>While she has an internet connection, will c:\windows\ipconfig.exe report
>her
>public IP address ? I need to know her public IP address so I can use
>Remote Administrator to connect to her computer through the internet .

There are plenty of websites which will return her public ip address
whether she connects directly or through a router. Here is one.
http://checkip.dyndns.org/


Jim.

"James Egan" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> There are plenty of websites which will return her public ip address
> whether she connects directly or through a router. Here is one.
> http://checkip.dyndns.org/
>
>
> Jim.


Thanks for your response Jim.

As it turns out, c:\windows\ipconfig.exe does report her public IP address.

I connected to her computer this evening, and uninstalled some useless
programs for her.

Joe

In article <OVQk#(E-Mail Removed)>, "Joe Johnston"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>My mom's Win98 SE computer is connected directly (no router, hub, or switch)
>to her broadband cable modem. Her ISP is suddenlink.com . Their website
>claims they provide dynamic IP addresses rather than static ones, which I
>believe is somewhat uncommon for cable ISP's .
>
>While she has an internet connection, will c:\windows\ipconfig.exe report
>her
>public IP address ? I need to know her public IP address so I can use
>Remote Administrator to connect to her computer through the internet .
>
>I have used R.A. to connect to my home computers from work, but there
>are routers at each end, and I know how to find the public IP's in that
>situation .
>
>Joe

Yes, ipconfig (or winipcfg) will report her public IP address.
However, that address is dynamic, so it could change at any time.
There are many "dynamic DNS" services that can give her address an
unchanging domain name.

In my experience, cable companies provide dynamic IP addresses. I've
never seen a static IP address from a cable company. Companies that
provide static IP addresses usually charge extra for them.

Since your mom's computer is connected directly to the Internet and
has a public IP address, it needs a good software firewall to protect
it from hackers. Firewalls that work on Win98 are hard to find. Does
her computer have one?

I recommend always connecting a Win98 computer to a cable modem
through a home broadband router, which acts as an incoming firewall.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

"Steve Winograd [MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news(E-Mail Removed)...

> Yes, ipconfig (or winipcfg) will report her public IP address.
> However, that address is dynamic, so it could change at any time.
> There are many "dynamic DNS" services that can give her address an
> unchanging domain name.
>
> In my experience, cable companies provide dynamic IP addresses. I've
> never seen a static IP address from a cable company. Companies that
> provide static IP addresses usually charge extra for them.
>
> Since your mom's computer is connected directly to the Internet and
> has a public IP address, it needs a good software firewall to protect
> it from hackers. Firewalls that work on Win98 are hard to find. Does
> her computer have one?
>
> I recommend always connecting a Win98 computer to a cable modem
> through a home broadband router, which acts as an incoming firewall.
> --


Thanks for your reply, Steve.

In examining the list of programs which start whenever Windows starts,
I didn't see any that looked like firewalls.

Assuming I need to access Mom's computer once a week for system
maintenance, plus twice more per week to send her financially sensitive
data, do you think it might be a good idea to buy a pair of identical
routers that have VPN capability ?

Joe

In article <#(E-Mail Removed)>, "Joe Johnston"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>> Yes, ipconfig (or winipcfg) will report her public IP address.
>> However, that address is dynamic, so it could change at any time.
>> There are many "dynamic DNS" services that can give her address an
>> unchanging domain name.
>>
>> In my experience, cable companies provide dynamic IP addresses. I've
>> never seen a static IP address from a cable company. Companies that
>> provide static IP addresses usually charge extra for them.
>>
>> Since your mom's computer is connected directly to the Internet and
>> has a public IP address, it needs a good software firewall to protect
>> it from hackers. Firewalls that work on Win98 are hard to find. Does
>> her computer have one?
>>
>> I recommend always connecting a Win98 computer to a cable modem
>> through a home broadband router, which acts as an incoming firewall.
>
>Thanks for your reply, Steve.
>
>In examining the list of programs which start whenever Windows starts,
>I didn't see any that looked like firewalls.
>
>Assuming I need to access Mom's computer once a week for system
>maintenance, plus twice more per week to send her financially sensitive
>data, do you think it might be a good idea to buy a pair of identical
>routers that have VPN capability ?
>
>Joe

You're welcome, Joe. I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with routers
that have VPN capability, and I don't know if that's a good solution.

An ordinary router between your mother's cable modem and her computer
will provide protection from hackers. You'll probably have to open
port(s) in the router to allow remote access from your computer. I
assume that the remote access software requires you to enter a
password to make the connection.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm

"Steve Winograd [MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)

> ......You'll probably have to open > port(s) in the router to allow remote
> access from your computer. I assume that the remote access software
> requires you to enter a password to make the connection.
> --


Correct in both cases. The remote access software also allows Mom's
computer to refuse connections from any IP except mine.

Thanks again.

Joe

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, "Joe Johnston"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
>> ......You'll probably have to open > port(s) in the router to allow remote
>> access from your computer. I assume that the remote access software
>> requires you to enter a password to make the connection.
>> --
>
>
>Correct in both cases. The remote access software also allows Mom's
>computer to refuse connections from any IP except mine.
>
>Thanks again.
>
>Joe

You're welcome, Joe.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Networking)

Please post any reply as a follow-up message in the news group
for everyone to see. I'm sorry, but I don't answer questions
addressed directly to me in E-mail or news groups.

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional - Windows Networking
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

Steve Winograd's Networking FAQ
http://www.bcmaven.com/networking/faq.htm