My post about whether Google’s records of the Internet Protocol address should be considered personal information under privacy law, brought two comments from Googlers: Matt Cutts, an engineer, and from Peter Fleischer, Google’s global privacy counsel. Both go over the many technical and legal reasons that the I.P. addresses in Google’s records can’t, in isolation, be tracked back to an individual. Very true. But the converse is also true: The I.P. addresses Google collects, when combined with other information, can sometimes identify an individual, or a household. This raises all sorts of implications that need to be considered as we move into a world where so many more actions we take will be logged digitally in some way. The opposite of identification is anonymity. When I.P. addresses of Internet actions are all recorded, anonymity is harder to preserve. Logging I.P. addresses is similar to a security camera recording everyone entering your store. Without any more information, you don’t know the names or identities of any of the people on the recording. But that recording makes it much easier to gather that information and find out who is shopping. Some people you can identify because they go on to buy something providing their names. Other people you can’t identify, but the government with its database of drivers licenses photographs or other investigative techniques can. Mr. Fleischer acknowledges that Google’s records, combined with those from an Internet service provider, can indeed link a particular computer to a particular pattern of searches. He says I.S.P.’s, by law, can’t give that information to Google. But he admits that government investigators or even private litigators can: In order for someone to tie the IP to an account holder, there have to be at least two subpoenas issued: one to Google and a separate one to the ISP. This is important because people have lots of reasons to keep information private. They may not want Google to use for advertising. But they may also want to keep secrets from people who may have the right to sue them. Mr. Fleischer discusses at some length the technicalities of European law over what defines personal information. I.P. addresses, he argues don’t qualify. And more broadly, he suggests that some of the general principles that apply to personal information—standards of notice and choice, for example– aren’t always appropriate for I.P. addresses. Perhaps we should start considering another category: partially personal information—bits of data that can be personal under certain circumstances. There are real questions about who should collect this information, under what circumstances, and what they should do with it. The statements by Google and others that simply argue that I.P. addresses aren’t personal distract people from the thoughtful understanding of what they are and how they can be used. UPDATE: Peter Fleischer, of Google, wrote a comment below endorsing the idea that I. P. addresses should be considered partially personal information.
Looking up your IP address METHOD TWO
- Press START, then select RUN
- In the RUN box, type in CMD and press enter, or click OK
- In the "DOS BOX" that appears, type in: IPCONFIG and press Enter
Your IP address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway information will be displayed. To close the DOS box, type EXIT, and press enter.
Note: If your PC connects to the internet thru a router or firewall, your internet address may not actually be a true internet address. Most routers and firewalls protect your computer from hackers by assigning a different address to your computer that what appears on the internet. This also allows you to connect multiple computers to the internet via a single internet connection.
Looking up your IP address METHOD ONE
- From the Control Panel go to Network and Internet Connections
- In the Internet Connections window, double-click on Network Connections
- In the Network Connections window, find your network connection. Usually this will be labeled as Local Area Connection for a wired connection, or if you are connecting with a wireless connection, it will be labeled Wireless Network Connection
- Right-Click on your network connection and select Status from the menu that appears
- On the Network Connection Status window, click the Support tab
Your IP address will be listed, as well as the Subnet Mask and default gateway
