It is essential for us to provide the accurate location of the IP address
that we see. In some instances, VPN providers or hosting providers will inform their customers and users that the server is located in XYZ location. Whenever they tell their users about these locations, they will request all the IP geolocation providers to place their IP addresses in the locations they have advertised.
Now, because most IP geolocation providers rely solely on ASN or IP range operating organization-reported location information, they do not have other ways to verify the location. But we do not rely on ASN-provided geolocation information as our primary location data source. We rely on our own ProbeNet platform-based geolocation
VPN IP address real address
A user reached out to us and said that we are providing incorrect data for the VPN servers they are using. These are the VPN IP addresses he sent us along with the location.
84.239.XXX.XXX Alabama
84.239.XXX.XXX Idaho
84.239.XXX.XXX Kentucky
84.239.XXX.XXX Montana
84.239.XXX.XXX Nebraska
84.239.XXX.XXX North Carolina
84.239.XXX.XXX Oklahoma
84.239.XXX.XXX South Carolina
84.239.XXX.XXX South Dakota
84.239.XXX.XXX Virginia
Now, at first glance, I notice a pattern. There are no major data centers in those region, which is why we do not have many ProbeNet PoPs in these states.
Consequently, a VPN provider will likely not be able to get servers as well. A more convenient path for them would be to just tell their users they have servers there.
Even though we do not have servers in a few of these states, we can still figure out where these VPN IPs are located.
What does our data says?
| ip | IPinfo | User / VPN Claim | Our Competitor Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Georgia | Idaho | Idaho |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Georgia | Kentucky | Kentucky |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Colorado | Nebraska | Nebraska |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | New York | Montana | Montana |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Colorado | Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Georgia | North Carolina | North Carolina |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Georgia | South Carolina | South Carolina |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Colorado | South Dakota | South Dakota |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Georgia | Virginia | Virginia |
| 84.239.XXX.XXX | Georgia | Alabama | Alabama |
You will notice that, in all instances, our competitors agree with whatever the VPN provider is telling them, and the user takes that as the true location. However, not agreeing does not mean we are wrong. We contradict every location information the VPN is claiming.
Proof is in the ping.
Three locations that we recognize are major data center states (Colorado, Georgia and New York). We already have ProbeNet PoPs in them.
Let’s start with an example IP address of Denver, Colorado.
| Probe_id | Loss | Sent | Last | Avg | Best | Wrst | StDev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| denverPoP1 | 0 | 10 | 0.713 | 0.71 | 0.69 | 0.764 | 0.021 |
| denverPoP2 | 0 | 10 | 1.26 | 1.276 | 1.224 | 1.346 | 0.036 |
We are receiving sub-1ms ping times to these IP addresses, which means that, regardless of the location, we can determine the exact data center where this “Nebraskan” IP address is located - in Denver, Colorado.
Now, let’s ping a Montana VPN IP address that we say is in New York:
| Probe_id | Loss | Sent | Last | Avg | Best | Wrst | StDev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ny_pop1 | 0 | 10 | 0.716 | 0.753 | 0.716 | 0.771 | 0.015 |
| ny_pop2 | 0 | 10 | 1.72 | 1.25 | 0.99 | 1.779 | 0.274 |
| ny_pop2 | 0 | 10 | 1.74 | 1.72 | 1.684 | 1.761 | 0.028 |
Look at the best ping RTT. We have two servers in that exact New York data center. We can also provide the name and street address of the data center for these supposedly Nebraskan IP addresses, which are clearly located in New York.
As a user, how do you verify the information?
You can ping the IP address yourself and calculate ping time and the speed of light as a basic starting point. You can also use multiping services like ping.sx to verify this information as well.
However, considering we have more than 1,000 servers at this point, no other platform seems to reach our level of reach.
We appreciate user corrections, submissions, and inputs, and we also receive geofeed from VPN companies, but our product is about IP geolocation and telling users where an IP address is located.