Networking
Understand IP addresses and DNS records, prepare domain changes, and investigate connection problems. 27 articles.
Does Restarting Your Router Change Your IP?
A practical before-and-after restart test: when a router reboot changes your public IP, when it does not, and how DHCP leases and CGNAT affect the result.
What Is DHCP on Home Internet? How Your Router Hands Out Addresses
What DHCP does on a home network, what your router hands each device, how leases renew, and how to fix 169.254 self-assigned addresses, IP conflicts, and other DHCP errors.
Ping for Normal Users: What the Numbers Actually Tell You
What ping measures, how to run it on Windows, Mac, and Linux, how to read time, TTL, and packet loss honestly, and why a failed ping does not always mean a site is down.
What Is a WAN IP Address?
What the WAN IP on your router actually is, how it differs from your LAN and public IP, where to find it, and when the number matters for normal home internet.
CGNAT and Port Forwarding: Why It Fails
Why router port forwards fail on CGNAT: the inbound path never reaches your home, the symptoms people hit, and what actually fixes reachability versus what does not.
Does Your IP Change When You Travel?
Yes—your public IP usually flips when you leave home Wi‑Fi for a hotel, airport, café, or mobile roaming. Why a new network means a new exit address, what stays the same, and how that differs from a GeoIP city label.
Reverse DNS (PTR) for Normal Users: What That Hostname Means
What reverse DNS and PTR records are, why mail servers care, what a normal user can (and cannot) learn from a reverse hostname, how to look one up simply, and common myths vs forward DNS, WHOIS, and traceroute.
Traceroute for Normal Users: What Those Hops Actually Mean
What traceroute shows (hops, latency spikes, where a path fails), how to run it on Windows/Mac/Linux without geek theater, how to read results honestly, and what it does not prove about speed, VPNs, or your ISP.
Static vs Dynamic IP for Home Internet: When Is Static Worth It?
Should you pay for a static IP on your home broadband plan? What static vs dynamic means at signup, when remote access and allowlists make static useful, what you still do not get, and how CGNAT and IPv4 scarcity change the decision.
What Is an ISP Number? ASN vs Account Number
People searching 'what is my ISP number' usually mean the account ID on the bill — not the ASN in IP tools. How to tell account number, ISP name, and ASN apart, and where to find each.
How to Tell If You're Behind CGNAT
A step-by-step check to see if your ISP put you behind CGNAT: compare router WAN to your public IP, read Shared Address Space clues, rule out double NAT, and know when to ask the ISP.
DNS over HTTPS for Normal Users
What DNS over HTTPS (DoH) changes vs plain DNS, what it does not hide (you still have a public IP), when it helps, and common pitfalls for everyday browsing.
How to Find Your Public IP Address
Simple ways a normal person can find the public IP address the internet sees right now: a web check, phone data vs Wi‑Fi, and what to ignore in system settings.
WHOIS Lookup for Normal Users: What You Learn and What You Don't
A domain WHOIS lookup shows public registration data such as registrar, dates, and nameservers. It does not prove who runs the website, and it is not an IP or ISP lookup.
What an IP Speed Test Actually Measures
An internet speed test is not a score for your IP address. Learn what download, upload, and latency mean, what a browser test to FindMyIP.net shows, and what it does not prove about your ISP.
Find the ISP for Any IP Address (Lookup Guide)
Given an IP from a log, ticket, game, or server, look up which ISP or network owns it. How to use ISP and IP lookup tools, what ASN means, and why the name may not match a retail brand.
How Accurate Is IP Geolocation?
IP geolocation is often fine at city or region level and almost never street-accurate. How GeoIP databases work, why VPN and CGNAT skew results, and what FindMyIP actually shows.
What Is an ASN? The Network Number Behind Your ISP
ASN (Autonomous System Number) is the routing ID behind your ISP name. What AS3303 or AS7922 means, why tools show it, and when normal users should care.
Does Your IP Address Stay the Same?
Why your public IP often changes over time: DHCP leases, ISP reassignment, static vs dynamic home internet, mobile/CGNAT exits, and what a VPN does to the address sites see.
How to Find Out Your ISP From Your IP Address
Look up which ISP or network owns your public IP. How the lookup works, why the name may not match your bill, and when VPN, mobile, or CGNAT change the result.
Site Down or DNS/IP Issue? How to Tell
Use a second network, browser checks and DNS results to narrow down a website failure without assuming one test proves the cause.
DNS TTL Before a Domain Move: A Simple Plan
Lower DNS TTL before you move a domain or host — timeline, which records to touch, how long to wait, and how to verify the cutover without guessing.
What Is CGNAT? Shared Public IP Explained
What is CGNAT? Why ISPs share one public IPv4 across many homes, how to spot it on your router, and what breaks for gaming and port forwards.
What Is DNS Propagation? (And How Long)
What is DNS propagation? Why DNS changes take time, what TTL controls, and how to check whether resolvers see your new A or MX records today.
IPv4 vs IPv6: What Normal Users Need
IPv4 vs IPv6 for normal users: what the family shown on FindMyIP means, what dual-stack means at home, and when a broken IPv6 path makes only some sites fail.
How to Read DNS Lookup Results
How to read a DNS lookup: what A, AAAA, MX, NS, and TXT records mean — plus how to spot missing mail, wrong IPs, and nameserver mismatches fast.
Public vs Private IP Address Explained
Public vs private IP explained: RFC1918 home ranges, when each address appears, and how to check which one the open internet actually sees today.