How can I tell where an IP address is?

How can I tell where an IP address is?
by Alan Smithee (2013-01-14 12:47:21)

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I've noticed some ads on this site and others are pretty targeted to me. I usually see stuff from Indianapolis, and I would guess lots of other people don't.

How do the ads know where I am? I figure it has something to do with IP addresses. Is there a database out there that has the locations? Usually when I do a whois I end up with who owns the IP address.

some services offer it in real time.

Google definitely uses such a service. When you look up something it makes the assumption that close things are better for you than distant things.

For instance, if a person at ND searches for Chili's, google will bring up the phone number for the Chili's in Mishawaka.

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