In article <purs425pb4ajot52pvt77qvknpmn6q17ue@4ax.com>,
Nicked <Nicked> wrote:

> I subscribe to an ISP that uses static ipa's and has no plans to

"ipa's"? You're the first person I've ever seen who abbreviated IP
Address as "ipa" -- where did you learn this from? Even though it
doesn't make sense, the common abbreviation is simply "IP".

> change to giving their users dynamic ones. Is a user with a static ipa
> more vulnerable than one whose ipa changes virtually every time they
> log on.

If you have a broadband connection it's likely that your IP stays the
same for long periods, even though it's assigned dynamically. The
server remembers the IP it assigned to you, and reassigns it if it's
still available.

> By vulnerable I mean:
> 1) Vulnerable to regular attack from the same source(s) who want to
> target that user.

This is probably the only case where a static IP could be a problem. If
someone is specifically after you, and they find out your IP, they can
mount a prolonged attack.

> 2) Vulnerable if an official and authorised party contacts your ISP
> wanting to know who we are?
> Does an ISP keep a huge audit of which dynamic ipa is leased to EVERY
> user all of the time? Surely not.........

Yes, ISPs keep logs of these. They need this to respond to abuse
reports. So if they need to know who was assigned a particular IP at a
particular time, they can do it.

--
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***
*** PLEASE don't copy me on replies, I'll read them in the group ***