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Digital Literacy

Daniel Silva
Daniel Silva
5,353 Points

IP Address

I was wondering if someone could help me understand IP addresses a little better.

If I understand right, IP's identify a computer/client correct? Let's say a library computer is used by 3 people, would they all have the same IP address?

If the 3 users would indeed have the same IP would their be a different way to identify that the computer was used by 3 people?

Thanks,

1 Answer

Steven Parker
Steven Parker
231,275 Points

The IP address is associated with the computer, so no matter how many people use it, the computer still has just one IP address.

Think of the computer as a house, and the IP is like the street address. The house has only one address, and all the people in ("using") the house share that same address.

If all you have is a street address, there's not enough information to know how many people live there. Similarly with an IP address, that's not enough information to know who uses the computer.