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Intro

Do you cringe at the thought of buying a domain and putting up with the headache of trying to make sure your IP address is up to date with your domain? Do you hate the 40 dollars you spend on DNS service each year to resolve your IP address to your hostname? Read on and learn the the flat-broke-and-busted way of maintaining a fixed hostname for your IP...even if you have dialup.

I'll divide this up into 2 sections. The first will deal with Linux. The second, Windows. This is only something that I've found easy to do and the price is just right (it's free). The only thing that I recommend is a dedicated internet connection (cable, DSL) but even this is not necessary.

I'm assuming that you aren't behind a firewall/proxy of any kind. If so, you'll need to configure this on your own as an extra step.

Linux

No matter what version of Linux you run, chances are that you'll have the apache webserver installed by default. This is good news as over half the websites of the world are run by the extremely efficient and speedy apache. I'm not going to address the specifics of how to set up your page...only how to get it a fixed address without buying a domain. So, you have your pages dropped into your webservers public directory...good. Now, how to resolve your IP...lets say it is... (for our example) and you want it to have a host.name.com to bind to. Easy. Go to http://www.no-ip.com/index.php and sign up. You can get a site from noip that is like They have cool names like sytes.net and servebeer.org...even workisboring.com

You'll be able to choose your own top level name...for instance, could be your new domain name. Next download a client from the download tab: https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php

The linux client is a source and is simple to install. Follow the instructions. You now are the proud owner of and your IP will ALWAYS update (as long as noip.com is up) each time you log on/sign on/beam up or whatever it is you do.

Windows

First you need a free and clear webserver since one is not included by default with windows. I recommend Abyss Webserver. You can get Abyss from http://download.com.com/3000-2165-10283992.html?tag=lst-0-1

Interestingly enough, Abyss is also FREE! I ran it while my linux machine was being worked on (bad hard disk...it was a Quantum 200MB drive from 1913...had to upgrade) and it worked just great off of XP Home! Download that puppy and install it. Make sure you read all of the documentation and familiarize yourself with how Abyss does business.

The next step...getting a hostname... is even easier than the linux method because you don't have to manually install the noip client...they have a windows installer. Go to http://www.no-ip.com/index.php and sign up. Choose the domain name you would like (see above examples in Linux section). Next, download the noip client from the download tab: https://www.no-ip.com/downloads.php but this time choose the windows client. From there, you'll be able to install this with a simple double click. Fill in all of your information (pretty self explanatory) and make sure that it will run with each time you sign on. You're set! Your IP will now resolve to the

Conclusion

You don't have to spend a dime to keep a domain bound to your IP. This is perfect for the home user who just wants a gallery or homepage. It's even good for someone who has a weblog or enthusiast site. I would not recommend this to anyone who has a business and wants to run a site. Just remember that the best things in life are free. Thanks open source!!!

PS: It's always good form to put a link of the stuff you are using on your website to direct traffic back to your software provider. I included a noip link on my mainpage and also an abyss webserver icon as well. It's just good form and some companies/software providers necessitate the use of their logo or a link on sites that use their software/code. Just be a nice person and give a linkback to them. Good luck! Have fun!

TKS

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by cereal

Dani AI

Generated

Great walkthrough, @TKSS. In 2025 the cheapest reliable path is still dynamic DNS. If your router supports DDNS (as noted), use it so the router pushes your changing IP automatically. On Linux/macOS, a lightweight option is ddclient, which updates many DDNS providers and runs as a service. (github.com)
Before you spend time on port forwarding, check whether your ISP uses carrier-grade NAT: if your router’s WAN address sits in 100.64.0.0/10, inbound connections will not reach your host. Ask the ISP for a public IPv4 or publish through a reverse tunnel (for example, Cloudflare Tunnel) which exposes your local web server without opening inbound ports. (rfc-editor.org, developers.cloudflare.com)

With WAMP/Apache and a DDNS hostname, use this quick checklist:

  • Forward TCP 80 and 443 on your router to your PC’s LAN IP and allow them in your OS firewall. Then test from outside your network (mobile data, neighbor’s Wi‑Fi). Many routers do not support NAT loopback; use split DNS internally if same-name access fails. (docs.netgate.com)
  • Tell Apache who it is. Set ServerName to your DDNS name and, if you host multiple sites, add a matching VirtualHost. (httpd.apache.org)
# httpd.conf (Windows paths shown as an example)
ServerName myusername.no-ip.biz

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName myusername.no-ip.biz
    DocumentRoot "C:/wamp/www"
</VirtualHost>

Do not skip HTTPS. Free certs from Let’s Encrypt are easy to automate. Note that HTTP-01 validation requires port 80; if your ISP blocks 80, use DNS-01, or terminate HTTPS at a reverse proxy/tunnel that supports ACME. (letsencrypt.org, developers.cloudflare.com)

Side note for : a web server is not a VPN, and a static IP does not hide activity. Focus on HTTPS, timely patching, and exposing only what you need.

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

Member Avatar for Paladine

Most awesome dude! :!: :cool:

Member Avatar for Edward Elric

you could also use Apache web server. alot of people do and its also free. but setting up php can be a bother for some.

Member Avatar for Member #2466

you could also use Apache web server. alot of people do and its also free. but setting up php can be a bother for some.

Ahh yes, you could use apache...but that would require quite a bit more knowledge than what most people have. Hence, this tutorial.:cheesy:

Member Avatar for Kashim

Thank you for this awesome guide. ;) All i need to do now is compile a website, which wont be too hard for the things i want it to do, and open up my ports to work with abyss! :cheesy:

Member Avatar for jbennet

my linksys router comes with built in support for dyndns - a service that automatically and for free keeps your domain name bound to your IP

Member Avatar for smartness

sorry, didn't get this! i use WAMP5 server (xp, sp2) and i registered with them () now what do i got to do? edit apache config or?

anyone pleaase help!

Member Avatar for Kurk

does running a server program the same as a VPN program?

Does the static IP hide your activities from prying govt eyes?

Member Avatar for cereal

Hi,

you could compare proxy servers with VPN, but this thread topic is about web servers so, if you want to explain better your issue, you should create a new thread. Regarding the second question, the answer is no, or probably: unrelated.

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