Hurdles Behind a List of US Address IP
Creating a list of all the IP addresses allocated to the US sounds simple, but we are talking about an internet that is in constant change. Here are the main challenges:
IP list for US?
- Dynamic IP address assignment: Most internet service providers (ISPs) assign IP addresses to users dynamically. This means that an IP address will change multiple times so there is no point in maintaining a static list.
- Private IP Address: So many of them are private and never routed on the public Internet. They are used in private networks such as a home, corporate intranet.
- The internet connected devices are increasing in number every day so there is always a demand for fresh IP addresses.
- IP Address Saving: To deal with the scarcity of IPv4 addresses Network Address Translation (NAT) has been implemented which allow mapping many private IPs to one public.
How to Retrieve Information Like This for an IP Address
- While it is impossible to come up with a comprehensive list, you can get information on IP addresses using the following:
- IP Geolocation Databases: These databases contain the information of the geo-location of IPs, that is country, region and city. Some of the popular providers are MaxMind, IPInfoDB and IP2Location.
- Whois Lookup: allows you to search for information in relation to a particular domain name or IP address. This can tell you about the organisation that owns the block of IP addresses.
- Network Scanners: They are used to find out active IP addresses on a network and information about devices connected to them.
IP Address Ranges
- It can be useful to think of ranges of IP addresses rather than single IP addresses. CIDR notation is a way of specifying the ranges. CIDR notation provides a network address and prefix length that specifies the size (number of IP addresses in the range).
- CIDR notation such as 192.168.1.0/24 indicates a total of 256 IP addresses, more specifically from 192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255
What is the Importance of IP Address Information
Details of IP address: Here is what the IP addresses and their information matter for:
- Network Security : To recognize the possible security threats and vulnerabilities
- Network Administration: This is used when a network administrator wants to manage and configure the network devices.
- Monitoring Service: For monitoring network issues.
- Internet Routing: For efficient routing of internet traffic.
- Digital Marketing: So as to enable advertising and content targeting via location.
- Fraud Prevention – To prevent and monitor fraud.
Since there are limits to how many addresses the IP tools can check and as this type of list is always in motion, a fully static list of US addresses cannot be made; however using the methods above, one should gain an overview on the dynamic IP address landscape stretching over north America.
Warning: Check specialized tools and databases that monitor IP address data day by day for the most accurate and updated information on an IP class.