14 DAY TRIAL // Having a dynamic IP can sometimes be a real nag as you never know what is going to be the next time you boot your operating system. Sure there are advantages, but some users may have a tough time learning their IP if a minimum knowledge on the commands offered by Command Prompt is missing.
The options in this case resume to third party software to substitute Command Prompt and offer an easy way to learn the current address of your computer. And if you also need your MAC address then things may get really complicated without the appropriate software.
Fortunately the Internet provides plenty of solutions and the great majority are absolutely free. My IP Address is one of the third party instruments designed to provide the end user with information on the current IP of the computer, as well as a bunch of other options for learning the MAC address of the computer it is running on or of the computers in the network.
At a first glance the options provided by My IP Address seem quite limited as the main application window displays the current IP, allows refreshing the address at a user defined time frequency, learns the MAC address of your computer as well that of the machines in the network based on local IP input and permits anonymous surfing by replacing your real address with a different one.
All these functions do not seem like much and many users would be satisfied by them considering that the software is a freeware. However, there is more than meets the eye and if you take a look under the hood a number of other tools that can come in handy at one time or another are available.
Learning a remote MAC address of a computer in the network is a walk in the park as all you need to know is the IP address of that computer. All the rest is taken care of by My IP Address in an instant as long as the remote computer is on. Otherwise the sending of ARP will fail.
Anonymous surfing function is not as great as one would think as it involves using a My IP Address native browser which is quite rudimentary, failing to offer at least a quarter of the functionality of a real web browser. If you bump into links that open in a new tab/window, you will be stuck as they will not open. To get a better picture of what I am talking about, imagine a web browser that offers an address bar, back and forward functions, a stop button, refresh and home buttons. But at least it works for the basics of Web navigation.
As for the anonymity, My IP Address used in our case a single IP which could be easily detected by the web services we tested it against as it was transparent. To tell you the truth, some websites did not even bother to display that the IP was a proxy and overpassed it showing the real IP instead.
If you take a look in Menu window in the top left hand of the application window you will bump into a bunch of other tools that bring additional functionality to the software. With a push of a button you can learn how your Internet connection is established (via LAN, modem, proxy) or open the configuration panel for making the necessary settings to receive an email each time your IP changes.
A resolve DNS tool permits finding out the IP address of whatever website you want. Suffice to type in the website name and the IP address will be returned in an instant. Ping tool is also included in the application if you want to check the connectivity to a remote host. Trace routing functionality is also available in My IP Address. It allows you to trace the route of a signal transmitted from your computer to remote locations on the Internet. You can set the number of packets to be sent (some may be lost on the way) and the number of characters for each packet.
Configuration panel of the application offers users the possibility of making different changes in the behavior of My IP Address. It can start with Windows in minimized mode so that it does not intrude on you, display balloon tips with current IP and MAC address or playing a user defined sound whenever the IP changes.
My IP Address gathered commands that can be run from Command Prompt and wrapped them up into an easy to use interface designed to fit any user's needs. Almost all network tools work properly and do not require complicated actions in order to get a result.
The Good
The application is freeware and stands as an easier to use alternative of the most frequently employed network tools. It features trace route, ping tool, MAC address detector, DNS resolve option as well as user alert whenever the IP changes.
Very easy to use, My IP Address permits the user to receive alerts when IP changes to a remote location, via automatic email sending.
The Bad
Anonymous Surfing uses a transparent IP which is extremely easily detected and in our case it was always the same. The interface needs a bit of sprucing up for a better visual integration into Vista.
The functionality of the surfing tool included is limited to the most basic functions of a web browser. It cannot open pages in a new window, there is no support for tabs and all you can do is navigate back and forth on a website and open links set to open in the same window.
Making the application portable would bring even more value.
The Truth
All in all the application is pretty handy, despite the fact that almost all its functionality can be found in Command Prompt as well. But this alternative is more comfortable and does not require memorizing the commands for finding the information via Command Prompt.
However, it would have been nice if all its features had worked properly and had it included other tools (like URL Unencode, Whois, etc.), it would have gained a lot in popularity.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
