CodeCharge StudioThe Internet is a network of computers. If you dial-in from home to America Online or an Internet Service Provider (ISP), your computer is connected to the Internet.
Every device on the Internet has a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. This is a 32-bit number that allows your computer to be found by other computers. This IP address is assigned to you dynamically by the ISP when you connect to its computers, and may change each time you connect to the system. Alternatively, if you use a high-speed connection, such DSL or cable, you may have a static IP address that never changes. You can usually view your IP address on a Windows computer by using the command "ipconfig /all".
To find out who owns a particular IP address, you can search for it at ARIN's web site (http://www.arin.net/), a non-profit organization that assigns and maintains the IP addresses for North America.