Google Map in IP Address

*Tom* · 12-02-2006, 11:19 AM

This is kinda cool -- enter an IP address and it gives you a Google map showing where it's located. It doesn't appear to be street-level accurate (it's a few thousand feet off for FQ's location), but still pretty cool:

http://www.ip-adress.com
(note the missing "d" in address)

Only unusual one I've found so far is that all of AOL's brands--even Netscape--appear in a cornfield in Kansas(?!)

*Andilinks* · 12-02-2006, 11:28 AM

It seems to be dead at the moment, but yes this is a cool idea.

Years ago Zone alarm had a feature that identified the location of rogue intruders with a map, no doubt much more primitive than this (when I get to see it) but I've missed that feature since they stopped it.

*DogAndPony* · 12-02-2006, 03:06 PM

Hmmm... According to this service--

I am dead and buried in the Rosedale Cemetery near downtown Los Angeles.

Maybe I should notify my next of kin that I've moved on.

*Andilinks* · 12-02-2006, 03:14 PM

It's working for me now, and they got me in the right town, wrong neighborhood. I'm still impressed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob West

I am dead and buried in the Rosedale Cemetery near downtown Los Angeles.

Well no, you might be sitting on a headstone surfing on your laptop. Odd, but better than being dead and buried.

*sheila* · 12-02-2006, 03:35 PM

Look, if they are getting the right city/town, that is fully impressive.

I wish it would load for me. Unfortunately, I'm having no luck.

*DogAndPony* · 12-02-2006, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheila

Look, if they are getting the right city/town, that is fully impressive.

True, that's not bad at all... Although it does make me wonder about people who are coming in from some IP block that's been bought and sold recently. And then there are ranges that belong to some big company. IIRC, past services used to place all IP numbers for some big company where their corporate HQ is; like Verio in Colorado. Didn't do that with Speakeasy, obviously.

Quote:

I wish it would load for me. Unfortunately, I'm having no luck.

Mucho bummero!

*Mandi* · 12-02-2006, 07:21 PM

We just got a new broadband provider, due to selling/acquisition of our cable company. I assume that's behind the news that my IP puts me over 1,700 miles from my actual location, LOL . . .

*Andilinks* · 12-02-2006, 07:30 PM

Yes, several months back Comcast changed my IP address and for the first few months it registered as Cherry Hill NJ.

The Google local ads served that and I was invited to order pizza online from New Jersey. My guess is it would have arrived cold.

*Randall* · 12-03-2006, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Look, if they are getting the right city/town, that is fully impressive.

Indeed. Not only did they get the town right, but they put me in the right general neighborhood.

So ... how do they do this? They say it's built from a database, but where did the data come from in the first place? They'd have to know something about how SBC assigns its IP addresses -- the hostname my IP resolves to doesn't give any hints about location.

It's a dynamic IP, so they must be assigning a certain range to each DSLAM (presumably that's what the point on the map represents). Interesting.

Randall

*DogAndPony* · 12-03-2006, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randall

They say it's built from a database, but where did the data come from in the first place?

The only thing I can think of is that the local telcos are willing to share the location of the associated CO for individual IP blocks for the last-mile services they provide, or the ISPs are willing to share IPs and the address of each local CO.

Which makes me think that a truly paranoid person might see this as a Homeland Security issue...