Hi, this never really bothered me before, but now it sort of does. My ADSL connection's IP address is DHCP assigned, and when I first got it, I just plugged it into my Mac, and it worked painlessly, so I never gave it much more thought.

But one thing I did notice is that my IP address always stays the same; it never changes even when my computer and modem are turned off (and I don't have a router either). So I just thought, "My ISP probably just gives out a permanant IP address to each of their customers.".

But I realized that it can't be true, because when I tried switching my internet connection to my Slackware Linux box, I got a totally different IP address!

And don't start on about the MAC addresses. My Slackware Linux box also had Windows on it, and when I boot into Windows, I get the same IP address that I get on my Macintosh.

I want to change my IP address for security reasons. You know, some websites log your IP address, and you want to keep your anonymity.

So, my question is: how do I change my DHCP assigned IP address? Here is my setup (the same on both Slackware and Tiger):

IP address: DHCP assigned
Hostname: Default (ISP assigned)
Subnet: Default (ISP assigned)
Router: Default (ISP assigned)

Any help would be appreciated.

I dont' think you can change the address your ISP is giving you. But if you say that it's dynamic it should change. I would talk to your ISP about this.

While you are stuck with the MAC address (or IP address) that your service provider gives you, what about using a software tool to hide who you are.

http://www.anonymizer.com/ - it would cost you $29.95, but it would hide who you are. My guess is you know about it already.

I honestly do not know of a way to hide your IP / MAC address and still have DNS resolve. If it is possible I would like to know how too.

Another program:
http://www.pctools.com/privacy-guardian/ - offers free program as of Sept 27, 2006, but states some features are not available unless you register. I have not used either this or the Anonymizer.

ISP's don't provide you with a MAC address, the NIC has it built in, so it'll never change and there's not 2 NIC's with the same address.

I should note that I have a router now, and to change my IP address I simply change my MAC address and do a DHCP renew a few times, and I can get a new one. So it's solved.