[myers]

Hello I was wondering if IP addresses in the headers of old email messages stored in mailbox stay the same and show the ip address of the original sender at that time or if they update to the current ip address now in use of the original sender.

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the IP address in an email header is the IP address of the mail server that sent the message, not the user's actual computer (unless the user is running a mail server on the same computer that they are sending mail from.

so if you get an email from a Gmail account, the IP in the header will match one of Gmail's email servers. if you get an email from Hotmail, it will match a Microsoft email server, and if you get an email from a business that runs their own email server then the it will match their server.

whether or not this number changes depends on whether or not the IP of the mail server changes. which completely depends on who sent the mail.

[dsenette]

the IP address in an email header is the IP address of the mail server that sent the message, not the user's actual computer (unless the user is running a mail server on the same computer that they are sending mail from.

so if you get an email from a Gmail account, the IP in the header will match one of Gmail's email servers. if you get an email from Hotmail, it will match a Microsoft email server, and if you get an email from a business that runs their own email server then the it will match their server.

whether or not this number changes depends on whether or not the IP of the mail server changes. which completely depends on who sent the mail.

[myers]

Ok but when I go to an "whats my ip address website" and get the number it matches the X-Originating-IP address from one of my sent messages in hotmail.

[dsenette]

ah, yeah that's a hotmail thing. i'm not sure why they actually include that in the header for something that's being sent through web-mail. in short, unless you've got a static IP address associated with your internet connection then that IP will change at some point

[myers]

Okay but what about older messages that are already sent....I know its kind of a confusing question but bascily I wanted to find out what my ip was in the past and if its the same as now, and if I could look at my old sent messages to see what it was at that time or if they would all update somehow and show my current ip. As of now even messages that are a year old and in my sent folder have my current ip address.....I dont know if that has been my ip the whole time or if old messages in your mailbox somehow update to show your current ip.

[dsenette]

the headers of mail that has already been sent won't change at a later date. is this all from a home connection or a work connection? do you know if you've got a static ip address?

[myers]

Home connection......I have no idea if I have a static or dynamic.....if I go to an isp lookup site it lists it as static......if I go to my router it lists it as dynamic. I can unplug my router and plug it back in 10 mins later and its the same ip. Can a dynamic Ip really stay with you for that long even when the router has been shut down a couple of times?

[dsenette]

unless the "router" is a modem/router, then the router's ip isn't the ip you're seeing from whatismyip.com. if you've got a modem (cable or dsl) plugged into the wall, then your router plugged into that, then it's going to be a dynamic IP on the router because it's getting an ip from the modem. the modem is getting an IP from your ISP.

in certain situations you can retain a dynamic IP for long periods of time, but this is ONLY when you're on an ISP that doesn't have many subscriptions (i.e. people paying for their service) which is a pretty rare case these days.

[myers]

so how can i find out my public isp if the one that shows up on whatsmyisp site isnt right? My modem is plugged into my router.And how can emails from so long ago still contain the ip address that shows up now?

Edited by myers, 08 October 2010 - 10:26 AM.

[dsenette]

the one on whatismyip.com IS right, and you probably have a static IP address (which you usually have to request/pay for)

[myers]

maybe I am paying for it somewhere in my bill? This is all very confusing stuff. Anyways you answered my main question on whether or not email headers can change once they are sent. Thanks man.