Help! My kid has to log into the Alabama Virtual Library for school work. If you aren't in Alabama, it locks you out. To get into the library, he and the wife have been going to Panera to use their wifi.

We use ATT cellular as the IP. Our IP address shows up in North Carolina or Georgia. How do I get it to match our geographic location?

My set up is an ATT hotspot connected to a Linksys router. Computer is wired to the router. The hotspot is our only access to the internet where we live.

All help from the SigForum Family is greatly appreciated.

quote:

Originally posted by fgwilliams1:
Help! My kid has to log into the Alabama Virtual Library for school work. If you aren't in Alabama, it locks you out. To get into the library, he and the wife have been going to Panera to use their wifi.

We use ATT cellular as the IP. Our IP address shows up in North Carolina or Georgia. How do I get it to match our geographic location?

The only way to fix this problem is sign up with a VPN service that has a POP (Point Of Presence) in AL. Otherwise: You're stuck.

What AT&T is doing is probably what's called "Carrier-Grade NAT." Essentially, they have a pool of public IP addresses that's way smaller than their customer base. So they put them all into a big bucket and assign customers whatever's available, no matter where it comes out on the 'net. Your address that you see on your end won't be the same that sites with which you communicate sees.

I think all the wireless carriers are doing this, now.

Needless to say: What the school is doing is brain-dead.

Probably out of luck.

Background of some of the data sources can be found at https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geolocation_software. Att is assigned the block from ARIN, but ATT can further break it down and may or may not have updated or accurate info as to where those blocks are assigned. Geolocation by IP is a bIt of a swag.

If there is a vpn opportunity to get a known Alabama IP (work, etc), that may be an option.

Your IP address is a function of your Internet Service Provider's block of addresses assigned to them by ICANN (Internet Consortium on Names and Numbers). No two IP addresses can exist on the same network, so ICANN distributes them mostly on a geographic basis.

Looking at it from a home user standpoint, the router you have that connects you to the Internet has an IP address assigned to it by your provider. That's just one in a large block (it may have many). Blocks of addresses are assigned out of what's known as a Point of Presence (POP). That POP is usually where your "location" is based. If you try to change the IP address on your router to some random number, it wouldn't be accepted, and you'd have no Internet connectivity.

Your solution might be to set up a virtual private network (VPN) between your computer and a computer actually connected to the university's network. In effect, your computer becomes part of the university's network, in effect piggy-backing on the host's. You could also consider remote desktop sharing, which is easier than a VPN but less secure.

If you actually are in Alabama as it appears, pretty much any local WiFi will probably suffice. Or hot spotting off of an iphone that has an NC based carrier service.

So, they don't expect kids to do school work when they're on trips, breaks, whatever? That's dumb. Perhaps a short letter tothe administration might help.

VPN isn't always a cure-all, as Netflix users can attest.

We always blocked certain IP ranges on our routers, but it was mainly to block Chinese hacking attempts.

It looks like they provide an option if your IP address shows as outside of AL:

https://www.avl.lib.al.us/cont...location-information

quote:

If your location is detected within Alabama, click here to attempt login via IP authentication. If you continue to experience issues, this may be due to stored browser information. Click here to clear any stored authentication data and then attempt to login via IP authentication again. This will flush any previously-stored AVL authentication information that may be complicating your access.

If your location is detected outside of Alabama, you will need to sign in with your AVL account information in order to use AVL resources. Click here or click the login icon (located in the top right of the webpage) to login. If you do not have an AVL account, you may request one from your local public library or public school library.

Thanks for the info and suggestions.

Tried the iPhone hotspot with same results as the hotspot.

Will send him to library tomorrow for a login ID.

Nothing like deadlines on a holiday weekend.

I use AT&T hotspots for all my tv and internet. My live tv apps think I’m in New York. I’m in Massachusetts. There seems to be no way around this. PlayStation Vue shuts me down after “being out of my home area” for too long. Just today I started a Fubu subscription. It also thinks I’m in NY but didn’t give me a warning. Hoping it lets me continue. Anyhow not your issue but I’m interested in any fixes.