Python Scripting for IP Address Tracking

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Prerequisites
  3. Setup
  4. IP Address Tracking
  5. Conclusion

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will explore the concept of IP address tracking and learn how to implement it using Python. IP address tracking involves capturing and analyzing IP addresses of connected devices on a network. By tracking IP addresses, we can monitor network activity, identify potential threats, and gather information for various purposes.

By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to write a Python script that tracks IP addresses on a network and perform basic analysis of the obtained data.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you need to have a basic understanding of Python programming language. Familiarity with networking concepts and the basics of IP addresses will also be helpful.

Setup

Before we start tracking IP addresses, we need to set up our Python environment and install the necessary libraries.

  1. Install Python: If you don’t have Python installed on your system, visit the Python official website and download the latest version suitable for your platform. Follow the installation instructions provided.

  2. Install python-whois library: We will be using the python-whois library to extract domain and registration information from IP addresses. Open your command line interface and run the following command to install the library:

     pip install python-whois

    Once you have completed these setup steps, we can proceed with IP address tracking.

IP Address Tracking

What is IP Address Tracking?

IP address tracking is the process of capturing and analyzing IP addresses assigned to devices on a network. Each device connected to a network has a unique numerical identifier called an IP address. By tracking and analyzing IP addresses, we can gain insights into the network’s usage, detect suspicious activity, and gather information about devices connecting to a network.

How to Track IP Addresses using Python

To track IP addresses using Python, we will utilize the socket module, which provides functions for network-related operations.

  1. Import the required modules: 
     import socket
 import pythonwhois
  2. Get the hostname and IP address of the current system: 
     hostname = socket.gethostname()
 ip_address = socket.gethostbyname(hostname)
  3. Print the hostname and IP address: 
     print("Hostname:", hostname)
 print("IP Address:", ip_address)
  4. Track IP addresses on the network: 
     def scan_network():
     network_prefix = ip_address.rsplit('.', 1)[0] + '.'
     active_ips = []
     for i in range(1, 255):
         target_ip = network_prefix + str(i)
         try:
             hostname = socket.gethostbyaddr(target_ip)[0]
             if hostname not in active_ips:
                 active_ips.append(hostname)
         except socket.herror:
             pass
     return active_ips

    The scan_network function scans the IP addresses in a local network range and stores the active IP addresses in a list. It skips IP addresses that do not have a corresponding hostname.

  5. Track IP address information using python-whois: 
     def track_ip_address(ip):
     try:
         domain_info = pythonwhois.get_whois(ip)
         if 'nets' in domain_info and 'CIDR' in domain_info['nets'][0]:
             print("IP:", ip)
             print("CIDR:", domain_info['nets'][0]['CIDR'])
             print("Registrar:", domain_info['registrar'])
             print("Organization:", domain_info['org'])
     except (pythonwhois.exceptions.WhoisLookupError, KeyError):
         pass

    The track_ip_address function uses the python-whois library to extract information about the IP address such as CIDR, registrar, and organization. It handles exceptions when the IP address does not have a valid whois entry or when the required information is not present.

  6. Scan and track IP addresses: 
     active_ips = scan_network()
 for ip in active_ips:
     track_ip_address(ip)

    The above code scans the network for active IP addresses and tracks each IP address using the track_ip_address function. It prints the IP address, CIDR, registrar, and organization information if available.

Now you have a basic Python script for tracking IP addresses on a network and gathering information about each IP address.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned about IP address tracking and how to implement it using Python. We explored the basics of IP addresses, set up our Python environment, and installed the necessary libraries. We then created a Python script that tracks IP addresses on a network and extracts information using the python-whois library.

By tracking IP addresses, you can gain insights into network usage, detect suspicious activity, and gather useful information about connected devices.

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