You’ve heard the term “IP address” and know it has something to do with computers, but if you’re not a tech junkie, you may not quite understand it. Here’s a quick look at what IP is and how you can hide your IP address.
What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?
Your IP address is something you might not pay much attention to, but it is an important piece of information that can be exploited if it falls into the wrong hands.
Here are some things cybercriminals can do if they get hold of your IP address:
Track your location
Your IP address contains information about your city, state, and sometimes your ZIP code. Although you can't pinpoint someone's exact address from their IP alone, cybercriminals can use it to track down your location.
For example, a hacker might cross-reference your IP with your public Facebook posts to figure out where you live. If you've posted about visiting a local coffee shop or attending an event in your neighborhood, they can combine that with your IP's city information to narrow down your area and potentially identify where you live.
Monitor what you do online
Your IP address is tied to your browsing activity. The sites you visit, what you search for, what you click on - it's all connected to your IP.
If you're on a work network, your employer can use your IP to see which websites you're visiting. So if you're browsing Facebook or shopping sites during work hours, they can see that and you might get in trouble for it.
Advertisers also track your IP as you browse different websites. They use this to figure out what you're interested in and show you ads based on where you are and what you've been looking at online.
Hack into your device
If a cybercriminal has your IP address, they can scan your network looking for weak spots or security gaps. If they find one, they can break into your phone or computer, install malware, or use your internet connection for illegal activities that get traced back to you.
Steal personal information
Your IP address doesn't directly give away personally identifiable information like credit card details, banking information, or your Social Security number.
But cybercriminals can use your IP address to figure out which internet service provider you're using. With that information, they can launch personalized phishing attacks by spoofing emails or calls that appear to come from your ISP. Since it looks like a service you actually use, you're more likely to click on a phishing email or answer the call and end up disclosing sensitive data.
Launch a DDoS attack
A DDoS attack refers to flooding a network with so much traffic that it stops functioning. These attacks are usually aimed at businesses, but individual users can be targeted too. Hackers can use your IP address to direct the attack at your device and shut down your internet connection.
Sell it on the dark web
Cybercriminals might sell your IP address on the dark web along with other personal information. When combined with details like your name, address, or financial information, criminals can use it for fraud and other illegal activities.
How to Hide Your IP Address
There are a couple of problems with IP that might make you want to hide your IP address in certain situations. For example, you might want to keep companies from tracking your internet activity, or you might want to protect yourself when using unsecured Wi-Fi. Since IP addresses are location-based, hiding your IP address can help you get into websites that are not available in your geographical location. Here are three ways to hide your IP address:
1. Use a VPN
VPN stands for “Virtual Private Network.” With a VPN provider, the traffic from your computer routes through their network first. It doesn’t change your IP address but rather conceals it by assigning a new IP address to the data. It allows you to surf the web securely and anonymously.
2. Use a proxy
A proxy directs your Internet traffic through another computer so that you aren’t accessing web pages directly. There are numerous free proxy servers online you can route your data through.
3. Change your IP address daily
To make it harder to track your computer, you can change your IP address daily. If you have a static IP address, you can change it directly on your device. Dynamic IP addresses will frequently change, so if you’re looking for added security on your device, consider enabling dynamic addressing.
IP may sound complicated at first, but if you’re concerned about your Internet security, it’s not too difficult to hide or change your IP address to keep your data private.
What Is IP?
IP stands for “Internet Protocol.” An Internet Protocol is a set of rules for how data is communicated from one computer to another. Your IP address, then, is a string of numbers that allows one digital device to communicate with another. Think of it like your home street address. Without a house number and street name, the mail man would have no idea where to deliver your mail. With IP, one device is able to pinpoint your device and differentiate it from other computers, tablets, and phones.
An IP address uses four numbers, which can be one to three digits long and range from 0 to 255. Each number is separated by a dot. An IP address might look something like this: 98.125.30.215
When you send or receive data over the Internet, your message is transferred in packets, and these chunks of data include the sender’s and receiver’s IP addresses.
There are two types of IP addresses: static and dynamic. Static IP addresses never change, and they hold information like your geographical location. Static IP addresses make it easier for other computers to connect with you, which is preferred in situations like online gaming. Dynamic IP addresses, on the other hand, are temporary and assigned by the network when a person connects to it. They come from a pool of shared IP addresses, which makes it harder to track a single person or device.
One thing to note about IP is that it’s not a connected protocol. That means that the end points of communication aren’t continuously connected. Each chunk of data is sent independently and can arrive at their destination at different times. Transmission Control Protocol, or TCP, is another type of protocol that puts these packets of data back in the right order when they’re received.
Public vs. Private IP Addresses
A public IP address is assigned to your network by your internet service provider. Any device that uses your network gets the same public IP when connecting to the internet. You can check what information your public IP shows through an IP lookup tool.
A private IP address is assigned by your router to each device on your local network. Your phone, laptop, and other devices each get their own private IP. These addresses work only within your network and let your devices communicate with each other, like when you print or share files wirelessly.
Here's a quick comparison of how public vs private IP addresses differ:
| Public IP Address | Private IP Address |
|---|---|
| Assigned by your ISP | Assigned by your router |
| Shared by all devices on your network | Unique to each device on your network |
| Visible on the internet | Only visible within your local network |
| Connects you to websites and online services | Connects devices within your network to each other |
| Can reveal your location and ISP | Hidden from the internet |
| Example: 72.229.28.185 | Example: 192.168.1.100 |
What's the Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6?
The main difference between IPv4 and IPv6 is the number of addresses they can generate.
IPv4 can only create about 4.3 billion unique addresses, which isn't enough to support the growing number of devices connecting to the internet.
IPv6, on the other hand, can provide nearly 3.4×1038 addresses and is built to handle the ongoing expansion of internet-enabled devices.
Both protocols are formatted differently as well. For example, IPv4 consists of four numbers from 0 to 255 separated by dots, like 103.86.98.1. IPv6 contains eight blocks of numbers and letters separated by colons, like 2400:BB40:1100::1.
Keep in mind that IPv6 isn't backward compatible with IPv4. In other words, you can't access IPv4 websites if your device is running on IPv6 (and vice versa). But since IPv4 still works well for our devices - and most of the internet runs on it - there's no immediate need to consider a switch.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is my current IP address now?
Your current IP address now is the one assigned to your network. It might look something like 192.168.1.1 if you're checking your private IP, or 203.0.113.45 if you're looking at your public IP.
What is the 9.9.9.9 IP address?
9.9.9.9 is a free DNS server operated by the security-focused service Quad9. It's designed to protect users from malware and phishing attacks and comes with privacy protections built in. Using the 9.9.9.9 IP address prevents you from unknowingly accessing dangerous sites and keeps your browsing data secure.
What does 192.168.100.0/24 mean?
192.168.100.0/24 is a way of describing a group of IP addresses that belong to the same network. The number after the slash (/24) tells you how many IP addresses are available in that network. In this case, /24 means you can have 254 devices connected to this network. The IP addresses in this network range from 192.168.100.1 to 192.168.100.254.
This is the kind of network setup you'd typically see in a home or small office. The 192.168 part tells you this is a private network, meaning it only works within your local network and not on the public internet.
How do I look up my IP address?
The simplest way to look up your IP address is to type "What’s my IP" into Google. Another way is to use an IP lookup website like What's my IP. Both these methods will show you your public IP address instantly.