With my internet provider, which is Cable, we are assigned a dynamic IP address, which means we don't "own" the address and it can change at anytime. BUT, I have had my same IP address for the past 3 years, maybe longer. Usually you won't get assigned a new IP unless your modem is powered off for longer than about a week, or you change the MAC address of your modem. These IP addresses are "leased" but with my provider it was like an endless lease, or it reassigned the same address when the lease was up from the DHCP server.

Enough with the technical jargon. I was assigned a new IP address overnight and I feel like I lost a friend. I want my old address back!