Corporate enterprises are interested in security and IT specialists have the need to locate and identify users and devices. On a network using the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), it is often necessary to convert or resolve an IP address to an actual host or device name. However, IP addresses are dynamic. In other words, an IP address which is relevant to a computer at one point in time may no longer be relevant to that same computer just a few seconds later.
Moreover, when a user's login credentials are stolen and a hacker uses those credentials to login at another computer it results in another IP address being associated with that user. The two IP addresses by themselves may not be informative enough for the IT specialist to investigate but ascertaining the names of those two computers provides additional information when determining whether to investigate. Resolving IP addresses to device names may also be useful in identifying impossible travel scenarios.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds