How do I go about changing my IP address so I can continuously vote on a poll?

Question

I'm trying to continuously vote for my cat on a poll, is there a way I can keep changing my IP address? I think the site recognises my IP address and stops me from voting again?

(My poor cat was entered into the competition a week later than the rest and is way behind, so I just want to get her on the same level as the rest of the cats so it's fair!)

Answer 1

OK... only for your kitty....



BUT FIRST ... A computer lesson!



To access the internet you need a number... this number is 'lent' to you from your ISP (Internet Service Provider). This number allows you the ability to call other numbers. These numbers also have built in 'ports' where are reserved for different types of communication or different types of programs to use and interact with



Here is a practical example:

Google is located at : http://72.14.213.105/

That is the computer that is running (in googles case its a little bit better networked then having a single computer, but you get the idea), a web server, which is hosting files and the service that google offers.



Now, you know where google is, google needs to know where you are too, in order to give you search results or mail or the like...



At this point in time, when you connect to http://72.14.213.105:80, your web browser automatically says, 'Hey, my IP is ____, and im looking for the above website/ip... where should I go?', at this the magic of networking takes over, and you hop from one router to another until you make it to googles computer. Once you request for a connection the web server already knows who you are and were to send the response to... and this is where they keep you from cheating and voting on your own kitty! (iknowright?)



So what you need to do is not send a request from your IP address.



What I would do, is (knowing- I cant get on the internet without an IP, and also knowing that I can connect to other computers), I would run a program on another computer, then takes a request for a website URL remotely, then connects and sends the information gathered from the site back to you!



Then when the website looks to see who is connecting... it will look like it is coming from someone else, because- well it is.



This is a fundamental concept in hacking. However its practical uses are endless.



This idea of 'proxy' (which is the proper term for for this activity), actually has very honest and non-nefarious roots.



Big business men at huge office buildings use-to check their stocks quite frequently, however back in the old'-days of dial up--- having a skyscraper filled with people checking their stocks frequently on dialup means that the internet was really really slow.. and time is money and in this case the more time that passed without seeing what your stock is doing, is the more money that you could be losing!



The solution was- in place of having each computer connect to the internet, Only one computer would actually connect to and request the stocks, and then when anyone looked up the stocks, they would just access the already gotten information from the 'proxy server'- which is much faster.



So.... you might be thinking--- this is all well and good and everything, but--- HOW DO I MAKE MR FLUFFY WIN!?!?



You can program a proxy server (as I have for fun in the past), or you can download any number of programs which can do this.. however what you need is a lot of different IP addresses, which means a lot of computers.



But your in luck, a lot of people already have proxy servers avalible for public use.

This link might help : http://72.14.213.105/search?hl=en&q=free+proxy+server+list+usa



To configure your browser to connect to a proxy server, it will be under- options-> connections, then a section about proxies, (it is a little different per browser).fill out the correct info, then bam, go to any website, what you see what the other computer requested for you.



HOWEVER----- and again, this is for your kitty, mind you...



Sometimes in hacking, simply connecting to another computer, is not enough protection to ensure that you are not caught. so what you can do is 'daisy chain' computers back to back so you request info from computer A, Computer A requests info from Computer B, Computer B -> C -> D -> etc. then back again, from D-> C-> B -> A -> YOU. This is called 'proxy routing' and more notably 'onion routing'.



So hackers for years have been infecting thousands of computers in order to proxy and onion route to conceal there tracks, which they call bot-nets...



However, other non-nefarious companies have jumped on the bandwagon of onion routing- however in place of infecting other peoples computers, they simply bought a bunch of computers and installed proxy software on them for the public/nonpublic use.



Most notable is Torpark (which is XeroBank xerobank.com these days - with an option to pay for a subscription to the really fast proxy servers). It is a browser which automatically connected you to a random proxy server. If you actually read this whole thing without going cross-eyed from boredom then I think you earned the right to use it,...



I hope you enjoy, and best of luck with professor fluff-a-kins on winning!!

Answer 2

The instructions about using "ipconfig /renew" only work for the local network IP address on your system. If you are looking to change your broadband modem IP address, you will need to work with your ISP or understand their policies a bit. The broadband modem receives its IP via DHCP (just like your PC does from your router) from your ISP. Most DHCP configurations are setup with a "lease period" on the address associated with the MAC address (a unique ID, in this case for your broadband modem) so that you end up with the same IP address, even after a short power cycle. Often the lease period is a week long but it can be configured differently by your ISP. If you truly want to change your broadband IP address, contact your ISP help desk and provide them with a reason to release your IP address. Realize that they may have legal requirements to retain certain logs so even changing your IP may not hide past activities.

Answer 3

You could also have a Flash Cookie on your computer that allows the site to know you have already voted. If you use Firefox check out the addon called BetterPrivacy which easily deletes this persistant info (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623/). Also try deleting your cookies and web cache and restart the browser.

Answer 4

You are asking this community for a solution so you can spam and essentially cheat on this poll. There are many programs and sites that will let you do this, but I certainly won't be telling you. Stop trying to spam.

Answer 5

Call your provider