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Recall: What is an IP Address?

As you may recall, an an Internet Protocol (IP) Address is an address given to each computing device that allows it to be identified over a network by other computers. The following excerpt, taken from this article by whatismyipaddress.com gives further detail:

An IP address consists of four numbers, each of which contains one to three digits, with a single dot (.) separating each number or set of digits. Each of the four numbers can range from 0 to 255. Here's an example of what an IP address might look like: 78.125.0.209. This innocuous-looking group of four numbers is the key that empowers you and me to send and retrieve data over our Internet connections, ensuring that our messages, as well as our requests for data and the data we've requested, will reach their correct Internet destinations. Without this numeric protocol, sending and receiving data over the World Wide Web would be impossible.

Dynamic vs. Static

Internet service providers (ISP's for short) such as Comcast or Cruzio play a major role in the assigning of IP addresses.

Dynamic: A dynamic IP address is one that is temporarily assigned to your computing device every time you access the Internet. ISP's use a select pool of these dynamic addresses and temporarily assign them to their users. This "borrow" system allows for much more users at one time.

Static: Depending on your ISP, you can also assign your device a static IP address, i.e. one that does not change. One would do this for a more reliable connection when on Skype or playing X-box, for example. They also are good for servers, enabling them to act faster. However, because they are unchanging, static IP addresses are easier to track and thus, a greater security risk.