straightUp Loc: California

Depends on whether your referring to IPv4 or IPv6. Most systems still use IPv4 which provides approximately 4.294 billion addresses.

It's a complicated system so I won't bore you with too much detail but to answer your question - I'll just explain that a greater number of computers can be served by establishing private isolated networks that can reuse addresses. For instance a typical business may have 150 computers on a private network with the same addresses being used by another company, but each of these private networks is connected to the internet through a gateway that maps any address from the private network to a single address on the Internet.

Your home computer is most likely a private address... something like 192.168.x.x that routes traffic through a gateway with an address like 192.168.1.1. That gateway, usually a router or proxy server, will map to a unique address on the internet that is owned by your ISP.

The NSA might see something suspicious related to a particular IP, trace that back to the ISP and the ISP can then look at the routing tables to trace it back to your non-unique IP on your home (private) network.


Well, when I say "it's not the terrorists that I worry about" I am of course suggesting a larger worry. For me that would be the 1%.

Some people worry more about the government, but the way I see it, the government is a means not an end. So to me blaming government makes as much sense as blaming a gun for k*****g someone. We all know a gun can be used for good or evil depending on who controls it... Well, the government is no different and when I see people getting hurt by the government, it seems it's always the 1% pulling the trigger.

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

Correct me if I am wrong. If PRISM is copying meta-data from these corporations, wouldn't it be useful to copy meta-data from internet providers as well?

Or did I miss something in your explanation of how ISP's can backtrack to a specific computer?

straightUp Loc: California

No, you're right. The NSA would need information from the ISP to complete their picture and that's where the Patriot Act comes in, which basically did away with numerous telecommunication acts that were designed to protect our privacy. Right after the Patriot Act was passed into law the government started asking ISP's for that information.

BTW, an ISP can generally only backtrack to the device which uses one of their own IP addresses, such as your router. It has no control over how you set up your own private network behind that which can involve several computers, cell phones, DVRs, printers and anything else with an IP address. So if you're doing something wrong on the internet while using your mother's ISP connection then she will likely be targeted. This is why some people prefer to use public hotspots when dealing with risky stuff.

My understanding is that the NSA would most likely use the ISP information to narrow the hunt down to a specific house or business, issue a warrant and then it's search and seizure time. Oh, wait... almost forgot, the Patriot Act says they can skip the warrant. In any case, once they start looking at the computers on your network they can find the specific computer pretty fast.

Augustus Greatorex Loc: NE

But would it not also be able to identify router IP designated addresses that use certain services such as the ones in the article? It would seem logical to f**g these origin points for greater scrutiny, such as copying all information t***sfers to or from these origin points.

That seems the best way to observe public hotspots. Public hotspots seem to me to be perfect places to develop profiling algorithms. You can set up visual surveillance of users all under court order to the ISP and business location accompanied by the customary gag order. Along the same lines as Operation Fast and Furious.

Think I'm full of **it?

Yes. I am.