I expect someone will bring up MAC addresses before long but until then...

Vulnerability, I meant in the technical way LadFromWales said it i.e. open to attack by whatever means; syn scans; spyware; trojans etc.

Anonymity, I mean in any normal sense you would expect to use it.

We're talking about a change of address here, not identity, with the limited 'anonymity' that dynamically assigned IPs provide.

Say, you are being attacked. Don't you agree that it would be desirable to just re-sync the router and get another IP?

That situation occurs very often in p2p on a smaller scale sometimes long after you're done with it.

It's almost synonymous with spam.

With your e-mail address presumably you only give that to people who you want to contact you?

If/when you start getting spammed, you're lumbered with it just like with a static IP?

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Say, you are being attacked. Don't you agree that it would be desirable to just re-sync the router and get another IP?

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Wouldn't care to be honest, or probably even know- that's what the firewalls are for.

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It's almost synonymous with spam.

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Almost but not quite... IP attacks are easy to filter, spam isn't.

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If/when you start getting spammed, you're lumbered with it just like with a static IP?

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First part true- second part- if they can't get through they'll give up. Why should they continue?

Burying your head in the sand would probably work just as well too.

If someone is hammering on your front door, wearing some ear muffs will drown out the noise no doubt. But pressing the magic switch that moves you to a new address would be better?

It's been a long while since I did some syn scan tests with Zone Alarm (Yuck) and an old Origo router, but the results weren't pretty.

Maybe today's routers cope better as do the latest firewalls?

Anyway, static IPs aren't for me, though I can see reasons for their use in particular circumstances.

I have been using static ip addresses for years and years (3 ip addressess over 7 years) and have never had any problems from anywhere. Don't see the problem with static ip addresses especially when used with a router. No one has eer got through yet. I don't care about anonymity etc. I have no secrets and don't need to hide.

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I have no secrets and don't need to hide.

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Snap.

I've been using dynamically assigned IPs for years and am very satisfied.