How does my computer know where I live?

Factual Questions
1

I understand that my computer, for better or worse, might record “cookies” when I fill out my address to order something, or surf for information on a specific town, etc. But when I recently moved, my computer seemed to know where I lived before I even knew my new address. (As such, I would not have been typing my address into any online form yet)

I’m no computer wiz, so this “miracle” can probably be explained pretty easily by someone here. My guess is my IP address is somehow based on the city I live in.

I don’t really have a problem with this, but I’m kind of surprised at the applications. The only use I’ve seen is for the funny video sites to offer me a chance to meet “local girls” in my city and some kind of car insurance company seems to think I will be so amazed that they know the number of an interstate around here that I will sign up on the spot. These just seem like tricks to impress me. Wouldn’t actual local ads for restaurants, car dealerships, movie theatres etc. be workable and likely a more useful application of this technology?

2

Yeah, it’s the IP address. (I’m no expert, but I’m pretty sure of that.)

3

Bingo. Here is an IP locator site that derives all sorts of info from your IP address, with varying degrees of accuracy. I say that, because it locates me about 75 miles north of where I actually live.

4

Highly varying, in my case. It puts me almost 3000 miles away, on the other coast.

5

Does the “certainly” number on that page indicate the percentage probabiliy the computer thinks it’s right?

6

Does Google work in the same way?

I’m asking because it always proposed me a choice between Web, francophone pages and french pages, but for some reason it offers only pages in spanish to a friend of mine (except if she changes her preferences, but even then french pages, as opposed to pages merely written in french, isn’t an option.
I had somehow assumed until now that for some reason her provider is giving her spanish IP adresses, but I’m wondering if such a thing is possible.

7

There is a somewhat interesting discussion of the accuracy of determining location from IP address here.

8

Yes, varying indeed…it seems highly confident that I’m in Wales. Which is very wrong…

9

It can’t even locate me. This thing seems to be rather dodgy :dubious:

10

Accurate with me…

11

It got to within 2 miles of me. I am still not impressed.

12

i think it’s actually telling you where your ISP server is physically located … not your computer.

13

Yes, sort of. It depends on what you mean by “your ISP.” See the last post of the thread I linked to earlier. It varies a lot.

Let’s say SmallISP in Boise, ID gets a block of addresses from BigISP headquartered in Washington DC, and BigISP got their addresses from HugeISP in San Jose, CA. As far as HugeISP is concerned, those addresses are owned by someone in DC. As far as BigISP knows, they’re owned by someone in Boise, and as far as SmallISP knows, they’re owned by customers all over the Boise area, or maybe one is owned by a specific customer who has a static IP address in Middleton, ID and can be pinpointed precisely. However, who records the information on the location of an IP address is somewhat inconsistent, so maybe when the guy in Middleton looks up his location, it says Washington, DC.