GeoIP by MaxMind

GeoIP^® is the proprietary technology that drives MaxMind's IP geolocation data and services. GeoIP provides businesses with a non-invasive way to determine geographical and other information about their Internet visitors in real-time. When a person visits your website, GeoIP can determine which country, region, city, postal code, and area code the visitor is coming from. Furthermore, GeoIP can provide information such as longitude/latitude, connection speed, ISP, company name, domain name, and whether the IP address is an anonymous proxy or satellite provider.

The idea behind GeoIP is simple but the process is complex. We employ user-entered location data from sites that ask web visitors to provide their geographic location. We then run millions of these datasets through a series of algorithms that identify, extract, and extrapolate location points for IP addresses.

To name a few applications, GeoIP can be used for delivering customized content, targeted ads, web log statistics, digital rights management, and regulatory compliance. In fact, you may already be using GeoIP without realizing it. MaxMind's GeoIP technology has been integrated by many of our partners for ad-serving, fraud screening, web analytics, firewall/spam protection, and anti-phishing/anti-identity theft applications

Neustar IP Intelligence

(Formerly known as Quova)

What can our IP geolocation data do for you? By knowing the geographical location of your website visitors, you can:

• ELEVATE your marketing with localized content and ads
• PROTECT customers and your brand by fighting online fraud
• ENSURE you stay compliant with your industry's regulations

Quality is the key. To achieve it, we never rest. Literally - our people and systems collect and analyze data 24/7. By constantly remapping the Internet, we provide the most accurate, up-to-date IP data available. Learn your visitor's longitude and latitude, Internet connection speed, ISP, company name and much more.

With data collectors across the globe feeding our IP database, our information is processed through both automation and human intelligence. In fact, we have more IP geolocation analysts than all other providers combined. Our secret weapon, they ensure your IP data is spot-on.

To accelerate your business, gain the power and precision of Neustar IP Intelligence today.

What is an IP address?

Every device connected to the public Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses consist of four numbers separated by periods (also called a 'dotted-quad') and look something like 127.0.0.1.

Since these numbers are usually assigned to internet service providers within region-based blocks, an IP address can often be used to identify the region or country from which a computer is connecting to the Internet. An IP address can sometimes be used to show the user's general location.

Because the numbers may be tedious to deal with, an IP address may also be assigned to a Host name, which is sometimes easier to remember. Hostnames may be looked up to find IP addresses, and vice-versa. At one time ISPs issued one IP address to each user. These are called static IP addresses. Because there is a limited number of IP addresses and with increased usage of the internet ISPs now issue IP addresses in a dynamic fashion out of a pool of IP addresses (Using DHCP). These are referred to as dynamic IP addresses. This also limits the ability of the user to host websites, mail servers, ftp servers, etc. In addition to users connecting to the internet, with virtual hosting, a single machine can act like multiple machines (with multiple domain names and IP addresses).

Using Windows' IP Configuration utility to troubleshoot TCP/I

The top of the IP Configuration dialog box shows the name of the network card to which all the rest of the information in the dialog box applies. If you have more than one network card or a have a modem installed on the system, you can use the drop-down arrow to select the other device and view its information.

Just below the name of the network card, you’ll see the Media Access Control (MAC) or physical address of the network card. The MAC address is a unique hexadecimal code that's stored in a read-only memory (ROM) chip on the network card and is used to identify a computer on the network.

The next three boxes show typical IP address configuration information: the IP address assigned to the system, the subnet mask, and the default gateway. When you type Ipconfig.exe at a command prompt in Windows NT or Windows 2000, you’ll see a listing like the one shown in Figure B. As you can see, Windows 2000’s basic listing displays the Connection-Specific Domain Name System (DNS) Suffix, as well as the typical IP address configuration information. Windows NT’s basic listing only displays the typical IP address configuration information.

Windows 2000’s basic IP Configuration display presents essentially the same information as Windows 98’s basic IP Configuration dialog box.


The Connection-Specific DNS Suffix is a special feature Windows 2000 brings to the table. This feature allows a Windows 2000 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server to assign a DNS suffix to the network card to specifically identify the system on the network. For more-detailed information on the Connection-Specific DNS Suffix feature, see the Naming Hosts And Domains section of the Windows 2000 DNS chapter in the Windows 2000 Resource Kit. This chapter is available on the sample online version of the Windows 2000 Resource Kit.

Looking at the detailed display
Click the More Info button on the graphic version of IP Configuration in Windows 95 or Windows 98 to expand the display. Doing so reveals even more useful information on the TCP/IP configuration and the network card, as shown in Figure C.

When you click the More Info button, the IP Configuration dialog box displays detailed information about the system’s TCP/IP network configuration.


The Host Information section of the IP Configuration dialog box displays the system’s host name and DNS server address. If the system leases an IP address from a DHCP server, you’ll see the node type and NetBIOS scope ID. You can also find out whether IP Routing is enabled, whether WINS Proxy is enabled, and whether the NetBIOS Resolution is using DNS.

In the Ethernet Adapter Information section, you’ll see the address of the DHCP server, as well as the addresses of the primary and secondary WINS servers. You can also determine when the DHCP lease was obtained and when it expires.

In Windows NT and 2000, the command Ipconfig /all shows the same information that is displayed in Windows 98’s expanded IP Configuration dialog box as shown in Figure D.

Using the Ipconfig /all command displays the IP address configuration information for a Windows NT or Windows 2000 system.

Using Windows' IP Configuration utility to troubleshoot TCP/IP

Troubleshooting and diagnosing TCP/IP problems on a Windows network can be difficult. However, the task is easier if you understand how to use the native tools. One such tool is the IP Configuration utility, designed to provide detailed information on a Windows system’s TCP/IP network configuration. This information can be used to help verify network connections and settings. Along with other TCP/IP tools, IP Configuration can help you solve Windows TCP/IP problems.

In this Daily Feature, I will show you how to use the IP Configuration utility, and I’ll point out some new features that have been added to this utility in Windows 2000.

Graphical vs. command line
Windows 95 and Windows 98 come with a version of the IP Configuration utility that has a graphical interface, while the Windows NT and Windows 2000 versions use the command line. Note also that Windows 98 contains both the graphical and command-line versions.

To launch the graphical version in Windows 95 and Windows 98, choose Start | Run, typeWinipcfg.exe, and click OK. To launch the command-line version in Windows 98, Windows NT, and Windows 2000, open an MS-DOS or command prompt, type Ipconfig.exe, and press [Enter]. To see a list of the parameters that you can use with this command, type Ipconfig.exe /?.

Looking at the basic display
The main function of the IP Configuration utility is to provide you with a Windows system’s TCP/IP configuration. When you run the graphical interface in Windows 95 or Windows 98, you’ll see a dialog box like the one shown in Figure A.

The initial IP Configuration dialog box displays basic information about the system’s TCP/IP network configuration.