[1] MaxMind was founded in 2002 by Thomas "TJ" Mather and is based in Malden, Massachusetts, United States.

In an unusual technical glitch, a farmstead about 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of Potwin, Kansas, became the default site of 600 million IP addresses when the digital mapping company changed the putative geographic center of the contiguous United States from 39°50′N 98°35′W / 39.833°N 98.583°W / 39.833; -98.583 (1918 center of the Contiguous US) to 38°N 97°W / 38°N 97°W / 38; -97 (MaxMind "Center" of the Contiguous United States).

[3][4][5][6] The IP addresses were frequently used by suspected criminals and other nefarious actors, which would subsequently be mapped to the Kansas farm from MaxMind's data.

Law enforcement and other individuals frequently contacted or visited the property owners in connection with acts linked to the IP addresses.

MaxMind moved the geographic location of the default IP address to the middle of a Kansas lake and settled the case via alternative dispute resolution in September 2017.