Identifie user

Anon

Hi everyone !

I put up a web site that recognize the user and greats him through the IP Address.

I now realized that the IP Address can keep changing in every log on when the connection is done throught certain servers.

Which element can identify a user ??

thanks

Anon

There isn't really any way to do this unless you have the users log in and then track them from there. Most ISP IP addresses are dynamic. Constant connections are static.

Anon

Unless you actually have them log in and track sessions, the best way to do what you want is to set a cookie. Be advised, though, that cookies can be cleared on clients, some people have their browsers set to block cookies, and cookies may not work for people behind some firewalls or proxies.

If there were an easy and sure way to identify users it would eliminate half the threads on these message boards ;-)

-- rich --

Anon

Sorry Brian Douros,

Just because a connection is permanant does not in any way, shape, or form mean that it is static. There are many companies that do not even offer static ip address. And if they do, they usually make you pay extra for them.

The best way to track user is by forcing them to log on using a username and password, or by assigning them a user id, and storing it in a chocolate chip cookie!

Brian Douros wrote:

There isn't really any way to do this unless you have the users log in and then track them from there. Most ISP IP addresses are dynamic. Constant connections are static.

Anon

True, I was only speaking in general terms. So if you think you need to correct me then that is fine because you are correct. But then again you are not helping the situation. In most cases, if you have a DSL or ethernet, you have a static IP address. And yes in some cases this may differ. Then again in some situations you cannot even find out a users IP address, so what then? Do you want me to go through every situation possible? PLEASE....... I was only speaking in general terms. Which in most cases is all you can anticipate for.

Anon

thanks all !

But I am still trying to understand in which way does Yahoo or other web site keep track of a user, and manage to give them their personal choice of web page.

And what about phpBuilder, where my username and email are directly displayed in a reply message box.

How do they recognize me from an other user, apart from my IP Address ???

Or is it just the IP address that can make the difference ??

Anon

phpbuilder.com sets two cookies on your system for the discussion groups. The first holds your email address and the second holds your user name. Look in your browser's cookie file and scan for "php".

-- Rich Rijnders
-- Irvine, CA US

Anon

tset

Anon

I wish there was a way to get the users ethernet hardware address.

I'm almost sure there is a way to do this with perl. There is a webpage for students at my college that they must visit first before getting network access.

Once they connect to this page [which is a perl script from what I can tell] and log in with their student id, it assigns them a static IP address based on their hardware address .

This way, if you have a laptop, you can plug in on any ethernet connection on campus and get access [and have a static IP, even though your network settings are set to DHCP].

This would make life a lot easier, but to my knowledge, there is no way to do this with PHP. So, I'll be setting cookies that expire in 5 years :\