Every Hard drive has a unique IP address. An IP address is used by the internet so the governmnet can keep track of you. That way if someone is doing something illegal, such as hacking, the government or police can identify this person by their IP address, simmilar to a cars liscence plate.
Isn't that great? I love how the internet allows such easy spreading of misinformation. Of course, this kind of thing has been happening since BBSes, but still. I don't come across things this bad very often.
