AOL hosts on my local network

[Steve]

While address scanning for some routine network maintenance, I
discovered a bunch of apparently active addresses that look to be on my
local network, that I can't relate to anything that ought to be here.
About 40 or 50 address in the range 172.168.2.1-249. Each maps back to
a host name of the form ACA80201.ipt.aol.com, where the first name is
the IP address in hex.

I have used AOL in the past but dumped that subscription when they got
overly intrusive, though I still check email there now and then (they
never tell you that your email account lives forever, even after you
quit paying them every month), but don't run their software. My network
uses all predefined addresses, at the urging of my ISP. My DSL modem
lives at local address 192.168.0.1, router at 172.168.0.1, and
everything else at a preassigned address in the 172.16.0.xxx subnet.
Subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 on all machines. So where are all these
addresses at 172.168.2.xxx coming from? Every time I think I really
undestand networking, Murphy comes along with another curveball. Can
anyone here point me to some place to continue my "education"?

Steve Hendrix

 

[Steve]

Oops! I should proofread my own writing more closely - the problem was
right there staring me in the face. I mistyped my local network address
in the scan, and being off by one digit moved my scan out onto the
internet. Sheesh, there sure are a lot of poorly secured machines on
the internet using AOL. Not that that ought to surprise anyone.....

Sorry to add to the noise level.

Steve Hendrix