IP coming as long string instead of classic IP format

Question

If this was already asked I do apologize but I searched for a good two hours about this.

So I have a website and on it I have an admin panel that logs all my admin's actions, when doing so I grab their IP just in case the session bugs and deletes the name variable. However I've noticed some people have IPS' such as AT&T that seemingly encrypt your IP address. The IP address comes out looking like this:

2600:1003:b109:9b8a:70c7:3b0e:5fd3:d8f3

Does anyone know how to convert it to be back like this:

xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

I've noticed that sites like whatsmyip.org do this.

Edit after reply: I feel stupid, I didn't even think about this being an IPv6 Address. Thanks for pointing it out everyone.

That *long string* is an [IPV6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6) address. It's nothing to do with being encrypted. — Ken White, Jun 01 '17 at 20:44
They are both "actual IPs". One is a newer format (IPv6) and one is older (IPv4). You should design your app to handle both formats. — Jacob H, Jun 01 '17 at 20:45
What you get from *most request* is irrelevant. An IPV6 address is perfectly valid, and is not encrypted. Read the Wikipedia article I linked. — Ken White, Jun 01 '17 at 20:45

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jun 01 '17 at 20:45

2

That's not encrypted. That's the IP address. It's an IPv6 address.

Your web hosting supports both IPv4 and IPv6 addressing, which is why you'll see a mix of these in your logs.

answered Jun 01 '17 at 20:45

Brad

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And eventually, *everyone* will be coming via IPv6. – ceejayoz Jun 01 '17 at 20:52
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@ceejayoz We can only hope. :-) I had to help someone with IPX/SPX a couple weeks ago. – Brad Jun 01 '17 at 20:52

IP coming as long string instead of classic IP format

1 Answers1