Watch WAN IP is intended to allow users to monitor the WAN (external) IP address of their personal router/firewall solution connected to their Internet broadband service of choice.
Many broadband providers assign IP addresses by DHCP rather than assigning static IP addresses. While these DHCP addresses might not change frequently, if/when they do change, it can cause you to be unable to connect to your home network/computers remotely.
For instance, if you host a web site on a server at home or use a remote control program such as Terminal Services, PCAnywhere, or VNC, you need to know what your current WAN IP address is to be able to connect. This program will allow you to be notified via E-Mail, FTP, or both of the new IP address when it changes.
Watch WAN IP works by "Screen Scraping" the IP address off of your router and comparing it to the old address. This means that the program will connect to the router to get the HTML source of the configuration page the WAN IP is displayed on. Then, using parameters you define, locates and extract the IP addres from the HTML source. If the IP has changed, it will notify you.
