It can be done. I do it. Every day. I have a static IP on a cable broadband connection.
I also do it on a second PC so I don't lose my internet connection on my main PC.
*** WARNING ***
If you mess this up, you may (probably temporarily) lose your internet connection. It depends on your ISP, and what exactly you mess up!
If you try this, and mess up your PC or internet connection, it's YOUR problem, not mine. I only posted up this info, you don't have to try it. If you are not confident with computers, you probably should'nt!*** IN OTHER WORDS - TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK! ***OK, warning out of the way, onto the guide.
This will allow you to create pupils on a static IP. Not thousands of them like you can on a dynamic one, but a good few. This brute:
http://plunkywunky.mybrute.com/cellule
... is mine and has been levelled up almost entirely by self pupiling on my static IP.
You will need:
1. A PC. If you have a second/spare PC you can use, all the better.
2. Ideally, a direct connection to your modem. You can probably do it with a router, but I've never tried it. This guide assumes a direct connection to the modem.
3. The modem needs to be connected by ethernet. No idea how you would do it with USB - don't even know if it would work.
4. A small piece of software called "macshift". You can get it here: http://devices.natetrue.com/macshift/
To make this work, what we do is force your ISP to allocate you a new IP address.
We do this by altering the MAC address of the network card/connection on your PC. (If you have to use a combined modem/router, you would need to alter the MAC address of the router. It should have the same effect but I have no idea how you do it. If you have a separate modem and router, change the router, it should also have the same effect. I take my router out of the equation when doing this - I'll explain why further down.)
When you power up your modem, it looks at whatever it's connected to (a network card in this case) and checks to see if it recognises it. If it does, it gives it the same IP it had last time it saw it .... because you have a static IP. If it DOESN'T recognise it, it will give it a NEW IP address .... which is what we want for shiny new pupils!
How does it recognise the network card (or router) ? ... It checks the MAC address of it. By running macshift (the software in point 4 above) you alter the MAC address. This fools your ISP into thinking a new computer has just connected up to your modem, and it gives it a new IP. The possibilty exists that you *might* get an IP address thats been used on brute before, but most times, it'll work. My success rate is maybe 85% .... which is pretty good and far better than the 0% you have probably had on your static IP up until now.
So how do we do this?
Follow these steps:
1. Download and install "macshift". Then configure it (follow the instructions on their website and in the README that comes with it .... I can't really explain it any better) so that you have a shortcut on your desk to run it from. This shortcut should be configured within the launch command within it to randomize your network card every time you run it.
IF YOU DO NOT CONFIGURE MACSHIFT CORRECTLY - THIS WILL NOT WORK! Obviously, you only need to do this step once.
2. Switch off your modem.
3. Connect the PC you plan to use directly to the modem, via ethernet.
4. Clear cookies on the PC. (I use ccleaner for this)
5. Run macshift via the shortcut you created in order to randomize your MAC address.
6. Power your modem back up and wait for your PC to establish a connection.
7. Pupil away! Each time you reset and get an IP that works (like say they won't ALL work, but most should), you can pupil 2 brutes (NOTE - they need to be 2 DIFFERENT brutes each time. You can't give both pupils on each go to the same brute .... if you do, only the first one will give XP) and will get XP from them. After that, no XP. I tend to clear cookies between the two but I don't think it's essential.
8. Go back to step 2 and repeat.
Thats pretty much it really.
Now, a few extra points (well, more like limitations) to this method.
I can only get away with doing this 3 times in one sitting. After 3 resets my modem will not connect up to any more new devices. I have to wait 2-3 hours before it will establish any new connections, and give me more new IP's. If all 3 work, that means I get 6 pupils total per sitting. Do it 3 times in an evening (6pm, 9pm, midnight) and thats 18 pupils in an evening. Nothing like what I'd get on a dynamic IP (which I'll have soon) but better than zero!
This is also why I don't use my router. After 3 goes, it won't connect to anything NEW ..... but, if I connect it back to my router (which my main PC is connected to) it recognises that as it's seen it before and it gives me my connection back.
After 2-3 hours. I disonnect the router, connect the second PC direct to the modem, and do it all again.
*** THIS IS HOW IT HAPPENS FOR ME. I CANNOT GUARANTEE IT WILL WORK EXACTLY THE SAME FOR YOU! IT DEPENDS ON HOW YOUR ISP WORKS! ***I have screwed it up and lost my connection to my router once. When this happened, none of my computers would connect to the internet. I had to leave it a couple of hours before it would give me a new IP and I could get back online again. I
ASSUME this is how it would work with you. You do this at your own risk. If you lose your connection for more than a couple of hours, you may have to call your ISP to sort it out.
Another thing I seem to have noticed is the randomization string in macshift is not the best. After a while doing just one run of macshift between pupils, I started getting less and less with XP. I've found that if I run macshift 3, 4, 5, 6 etc ... times between each reset, I have better results.
I think thats about it.
It sounds complicated, but once you have it set up and working, it's actually pretty straightforward .... and on a static IP, it's about as good as it gets. I've tried proxies, and they are a nightmare. Slower than this method for me, and far more hassle. It doesn't get me vast numbers of pupils .... it won't create a "jesper.nu" for you, but it can get you to level 10+ pretty damn quickly.
I've explained it in as much detail and as simply as I can. If you are not confident, don't try it!
Feel free to ask questions but I doubt there is much I can add to the above.
Good luck, and remember .......
**** AT YOUR OWN RISK !!!!! ****Finally, if you would like to thank me for this guide, please pupil this brute and post up the pupil name on here so I don't miss it (a pupil with XP obviously!
):
http://bpx011.mybrute.com
Thank you.
I shall finish with an elephant.