![\"A](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/whats-my-ip-address-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is My IP Address?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
There are two variations of IP addresses, there is the public IP address and the private IP address. In short, the private IP address is the address assigned to devices on your network by your router, which allows all your devices (phone, computer, printer, etc.) to communicate with your router and thereby access the wider internet. The other IP is your public address; this is the one that identifies you on the internet and is assigned to your router by your ISP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Through network access translation<\/a>, or NAT, your router does what its name suggests by routing data from your device to the internet and vice versa. This also means that the private IP of your device is never visible to anyone outside of your local network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before we go into how someone could discover what your public IP address is, let us explain how you can find it on your own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It must be stated that this method was tested on a Samsung S24+. Instructions might vary depending on your Android devices. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of going through all these steps and figuring out what your own IP is, you could just open up a browser and visit any of these websites. They should tell you what your public and private IP addresses are along with other information. If you have a VPN or a proxy, visiting these websites is a great way to guarantee that the service is working as it should. <\/p>\n\n\n\n You use your IP in every single interaction you have online. Any time you visit a website, you broadcast your IP to that site\u2019s server in order to establish a connection. This information is generally not available to third parties for a variety of security reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s explore the most common ways someone can find your IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Websites log IPs for the purpose of security. This creates an access history that can track which IPs have visited the website. The most common use of an IP in this context is the ability to ban or rate limit an IP that is flagged as engaging in fraudulent or suspicious activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you visit a suspicious website or one operated by bad actors, your IP is broadcast also to them simply by visiting the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clicking on links sent by bad actors can inform them of your IP. These emails can also include malware or other software that can lead to remote access to your device, and more, but this is a danger not directly tied to your IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When you click on an online advertisement, it redirects you to a webpage. In cases of seemingly benign yet actually malicious adverts, bad actors can then see your IP and track it or use it for malicious purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When filling out a form online or registering for an account on a website, the user\u2019s IP address is stored primarily to prevent spam. Filling in a fake or malicious form can allow bad actors to get your IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some online platforms, particularly P2P applications like VoIP services and torrent clients, establish direct connections between devices, which can expose your IP to the other parties involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Online games solve multiplayer in a variety of ways. One way is to host servers themselves to which users connect. Others, however, require the players themselves to host servers, to which other players connect. In this case, connecting to a player\u2019s server exposes your IP address to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A bad actor can trick you into revealing your IP address by asking you to visit a website they control or to run a diagnostic tool that reveals it. Be wary of anyone asking you to do anything online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By connecting to a public WiFi network, others on the same network can discover your (private) IP address with a variety of network scanning tools. This is especially dangerous if the network doesn\u2019t have strong security measures or if you set your device to trust the network when you shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By downloading malicious software you open your system up to a whole variety of dangers, least of which is broadcasting your IP to whoever controls the software. More often than not, however, this will be the least of your concerns, as bad actors will be able to achieve much more than that in this scenario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone has found out your IP address. What can they do with it? There are many sources online that will tell you all about the dangers of a stolen IP. Let\u2019s go through six of the most common ones and discuss their actual implications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Claim:<\/strong> You can find someone\u2019s exact location from their IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reality:<\/strong> An IP address can offer a general geographic region where that IP is used. This can vary wildly in both area and accuracy. For example, my IP encompasses a region in which almost six million people live. An IP address alone is not enough to pinpoint anyone\u2019s exact location and can at best be part of the puzzle. Much more personal information is needed, which is usually acquired from other sources like social media accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Claim: <\/strong>Your IP address can be used to track your online activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reality: <\/strong>This is only true within the bounds of a website and is disproportionately benign. Web administrators can track the activities of a user across the site\u2019s different pages, which is a useful way to identify patterns of use, interest in content, and more. This is also how suspicious activity is identified and blocked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Claim:<\/strong> Bad actors can use a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on you if they know your IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reality:<\/strong> This is true. By pinging your IP, a bad actor can force your device to send a response. Multiply this many, many times from multiple devices and they can overwhelm your network by tying up all its resources in responding to the pings. This is most commonly achieved with botnets or in collaboration with many other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fun Fact:<\/strong> This is similar to how small websites that gain sudden popularity can go down after they receive what is euphemistically called the \u201chug of death\u201d. When thousands \u2014 or millions \u2014 of people try to visit a website whose servers are not designed to accommodate that much traffic, it can crash the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Claim: <\/strong>If someone knows your IP they can impersonate you online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reality:<\/strong> Your IP alone is not enough \u2014 and in most cases not needed \u2014 to impersonate you online. To impersonate someone online, bad actors need access to your personal information, most often taken from social media accounts using information you yourself have offered up for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Claim:<\/strong> Your IP will be sold to bad actors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reality:<\/strong> As discussed throughout this article, knowledge of an IP address is both necessary to surf the internet and useless in isolation in terms of malicious activity. What is<\/em> valuable is access<\/em> to your device, which once gained by bad actors can be auctioned off to third parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Claim:<\/strong> A hacker can gain access to your device or network by knowing your IP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reality: <\/strong>A would-be hacker could scan your device for open ports and your device via unprotected ports or by exploiting outdated services. However, you can keep yourself protected from this by keeping your operating system, firewall, and antivirus software up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What if you\u2019ve read this article and decided you still don\u2019t want to run the risk? What if you want to hide your IP when you surf the internet? There are two easy ways to do this.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOn Microsoft Devices: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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On iOS Devices: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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On macOS Devices: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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On Android Devices: <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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On a Web Browser<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"A](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/how-someone-can-find-your-ip-address-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow Someone Can Find Your IP Address<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Visiting a Website<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Email<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Online Advertisements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Online Forms & Registration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Peer-to-Peer Communications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Online Gaming<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Social Engineering<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Connecting to a Public WiFi Network<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Downloading Malicious Software<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/what-can-someone-do-with-your-ip-address-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
They Can Track Your Location<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They Can Track Your Activity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They Can DDoS You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They Can Impersonate You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They Can Sell Your IP Address<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
They Can Hack You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/proxidize.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/how-can-i-protect-my-ip-1024x576.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nHow Can I Protect My IP?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n