I still don't have the answer to my question. Will someone please help? If I not connected to any network

Question

other than my internet provider why do I have three IP addresses listed on my computer and why does my own IP address fall in the Private IP address category. I thought Private IP addresses belonged to networks that required more secuity than Public addresses and to my knowledge my IP address doesn't need additional security.

Answer 1

First of all, as per your other series of questions, you still have not given enough details on what your problem is. How do expect to get an answer if you refuse to give enough information?

Answer these questions and MAYBE you get get the results you are asking for:

1) EXACTLY how are you connection to the Internet? Are you connected to a router? modem? wireless?

2) What types of network cards do you have? Network card? Wireless? Both?

3) If possible, give us the details of what you see in ipconfig. There are a whole slew of reasons you can be getting the 10.x.x.x network along with your other IP address(es). It has nothing to do with Public vs. Private security. You are completely wrong on that point.

"Public" in this sense means addressable to the outside world. "Private" means it is not addressable via the Internet and therefore you need some other control to translate your "private" address to a "public" address. In most home cases this done via NAT on your router. It is also done on your modem when using DSL and Cable.

Another reason could be using a USB connection to connect to your modem (DSL modems usually). The USB driver actually sets up a virtual network adapter to communicate with the modem.

So basically, unless you are directly connected to an IP (Internet Provider) not an ISP (Internet Service Provider) your machine itself will never have a "public" IP address, only your modem/router.

Answer 2

Most likely your computer has multiple types of network connections possible. I see a lot of computers that have 2 active at the same time, and occasionally one that has 3.

But before I go into a detailed description, lets evaluate your computer. Open up a DOS command prompt (Start -> Run -> CMD)
At the command prompt, type:
IPCONFIG /ALL

The output will consist of multiple sections, with each heading being left justified and the contents of each section indented under the section header. When you say, 3 IP addresses, I am assuming that you have the topmost header where it says something like: Windows IP Configuration, and 3 more sections headers. One will be like Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection. In addition to those two sections, you should see two more.....one possibly a wireless connect, and one possibly a bluetooth or VPN connection.

If the output of the IPCONFIG /ALL command only has 2 section headers (Windows IP Configuration, and Ethernet adapter) then you do not have 3 IP addresses, you only have 1.

For now, ignore the "Windows IP Configuration" section. Look at each of the three other section headers. The name of each should give you some information as to why you have multiple connections. Ethernet, Wireless, Bluetooth, VPN, etc. Keep in mind, these are only local connections. The Wireless connection and the Ethernet connection connect to your router and provide a single path to the Internet. A bluetooth connection probably connects to a nearby PDA, or a printer or such. VPN connections are "dial-up" connections to a (usually) corporate network.

The typical SOHO network is typically configured to create private IP addresses for each local network node. That is normal, not just for networks requiring more security. That's a function of the router or DHCP server (if separate).

Answer 3

Are all three IPs are listed on your computer as local to your network card, or are they simply "listed" on your PC, but may belong to some other network device?

Internally at your home, your PC can use just about any IP address. That is because it is not seen on the Internet, but only used internally to get you to your router or switch. This will often be set to something like 192.168.1.100.

Your PC will hook up to a router or a switch, which will also have its own IP address. In the case of a router, you have the internal IP of the router (the one that is part of your network), and you have the part that contacts the ISP, which will usually use DHCP and get its address assigned by them.

The third address you speak of may be a gateway or DNS server that the ISP told your PC to try and reach if it needs to contact any sites like www.yahoo.com or elsewhere.

To understand what IP addresses you are referring to, we would need to know the nature of the IPs. Try listing them in your next Yahoo! Question (but perhaps change the IP numbers slightly so no hackers have your exact IP details...). Indicate where you see the IPs (..."when I go into Control Panel, Network Connections, and then choose Properties, and so on) so we get an idea what you are looking at and where you are seeing the numbers.

Answer 4

Tell us EXACTLY (details of the wires/hardware) that you use to connect to the Internet.

When you say you have three IP addresses list on the computer, where are these listed? How do you know this?

Private IP addresses usually fall into the 192.168.x.x and 10.x.x.x network space. These addresses are used behind NAT functions or used with IP VPN services.

The reason for this is more because of the lack of availability of public IP address space. Public IP addresses are an expensive commodity.

Answer 5

What do you mean 3 IP address?

Do you mean when you type ipconfig in the command prompt you're showing 3 separate IP address or 3 things listed?

It will always show you 3 separate things, the first is the IP address, the second thing is the subnet mask, and the third is the default gateway.

If this isn't it, how about posting a pic.

Do you have 3 network cards installed in the PC?

Answer 6

Sounds like your IP address, Subnet mask and default gateway or DNS addresses. These are all fine. If you do have a private address you are more secure than a public one. All you need to worry about is getting online, if you can do that then you are fine. How about sending a pic of yourself.

Answer 7

You will have one IP address fro any wireless card on the machine, maybe one for a usb connection to the modem and then another public address on the internet itself. You have to have at least one active internal private address to obtain a connection.

Answer 8

Can you post the 3 IP addresses and the name of the network adapters they are assigned to?

Negative point me all you guys want but there's not enough information to answer this question. RFC designated "non routable" IP addresses are used in dozens of different ways and many people don't know the difference between a loopback (127.0.0.*) address and any other address. Also, 0.0.0.0 and 255.255.255.255 are not IP addresses but sometimes appear as place holders.

Answer 9

Where are these IP addresses listed?

Call your ISP and report the problem. As for confirming your real IP address, open the Command Prompt (Start > Accessories) and type in "ipconfig".

Answer 10

Your PRIVATE ip is the ip address issued by your router within your home network which are usually:
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255.

So your PRIVATE network ip address start with your router (192.168.1.1) then the first device connected to your router might be your pc (192.168.1.101) and the next device would be (192.168.1.102) and so on....

Your TRUE ip is the ip address issued by your ISP and you can find it here:
http://www.custom-computerz.com/forums/domain_tools.php
Or
http://www.ipchicken.com/.