I just wanted to take a few moments to publish a quick tech tip with anyone who’s struggling with their IP Address constantly changing.
To facilitate remote access, I have VNC installed on my desktop in the cases when I need to access my desktop system. To help me from needing to remember my IP address, I use a sub-domain from No-IP.com, which has worked pretty well over the years.
When I was with Comcast I went months with the same IP address. Since moving to Qwest DSL however, my IP address changes at least 3-4 times per week. I think the longest I’ve gone with the same IP address was five days. With changing IP’s as frequently as I was, I needed a way to monitor my IP address and be notified when a change occurs.
I found the perfect utility: Gateway IP Monitor. This is a freeware utility that runs in the background and simply monitors my IP address. If it changes, IP Monitor fires off and email to a filtered Yahoo mailbox. The next time I hop on VNC and can’t access my machine, I just check my Yahoo account and the new IP address is there waiting for me. At that point I reconfigure no-ip, or if I’m impatient will just enter the IP address manually.
I just wanted to put this out there if anyone else had a similar issue, give Gateway IP Monitor a try!