In today’s hyper-connected world, your IP address is like your digital home address—except as an alternative of getting pizza delivered, you are inviting nosy web providers, hackers, and ad corporations to crash your online party. In the event you’d quite keep them out, learning to cover your IP is your secret weapon.
Whether you should slip past geo-restrictions or simply feel like an online ghost for the day, this guide will show you some fun and straightforward ways to make your IP disappear. Read on to learn what IP addresses are, how they work, methods to hide yours and way more.
What Is an IP Address?
A web protocol (IP) address is a selected number that represents a tool or a pc network. You would like an IP address to send and receive information from other devices connected to the web. Web sites and computer networks also require your IP address as a type of identification to know where you might be positioned.
Allowing a network, website or one other device to know your location through your real IP address could be useful. Imagine you are on a date and wish to seek out movie times and availability for that latest blockbuster that got here out last week. Your IP address allows web sites with that information to seek out theaters near you and provide you with the data you wish.
IP addresses make finding information relevant to your global positioning easier, but this also opens the door to other issues. For instance, cybercriminals can access your IP address and track down your location with it. They could then use your geolocation data to access other information and private data.
How Do IP Addresses Work?
IP addresses work as an identification code assigned by your web service provider (ISP) that permits you to use the web. Whenever you attempt to get on the web, your device requests access to a network connection. Once your IP address is granted access, you possibly can surf your web to your heart’s content.
Nonetheless, your IP address is not at all times the identical. Whenever you connect with a network different out of your web service provider’s, that network will assign you a short lived IP address. For instance, connecting to a VPN server can change your IP address, making it appear to be your web activity is coming from a unique geographic location.
Ways To Hide Your IP Address
There may be a couple of solution to hide your IP address and protect yourself against third parties accessing your browsing activity and geolocation. Listed here are a couple of options you should utilize.
1. VPNs (Virtual Private Networks)
Whenever you use a VPN like NordVPN and Surfshark, your web traffic is filtered through the VPN provider’s servers, making a fake IP address and placement. VPNs also encrypt and protect any data your computer or network sends and receives, enhancing your privacy.
Although there are free VPNs on the market, these often include strict limitations on their data and servers. We recommend you think about one among the best VPN services as an alternative.
2. Proxy Servers
Proxy servers are different from VPNs but also can protect your identity online. These servers are computers you filter your web connection through before reaching your online destination. Whenever you connect with any sites or networks, those sites won’t have the ability to see your address — they’ll see the proxy server’s latest IP address as an alternative.
Proxy servers work well once you just wish to protect your IP address from getting out. There are free (but slow) proxy connections available online. Furthermore, they do not provide added layers of encryption like a VPN does, but they’ll still be useful.
3. Tor Browser
Using Tor (short for The Onion Router) Browser is one other solution to maintain anonymity online and ensure privacy. Tor works like a proxy server, but your computer’s signal goes through three random servers or relays. The ultimate relay sends your signal out into online space. Consider it like your IP address being inside an onion with multiple layers protecting and hiding it.
Tor Browser keeps your web activity hidden out of your ISP in addition to the web sites and networks you employ. Tor can also be open-source software that’s free to download and use from the Tor Project’s website.
4. Public Wi-Fi Networks
If previous options require an excessive amount of effort, you possibly can at all times go to a mall, coffee shop or airport and join their free public Wi-Fi. Using public Wi-Fi also changes your IP address, making it so web sites and other networks see your listed IP address as that of the general public network.
While these free Wi-Fi hotspots can come in useful, they can be dangerous. Joining an unknown network can open you as much as several risks, including:
- Malware distribution: Hackers can reap the benefits of the weaker security in public Wi-Fi networks to put in sketchy software in your device, resembling viruses, adware and trackers.
- Malicious hotspots: Cybercriminals can create networks that seem like legitimate public hotspots to trick people into connecting before stealing their information.
- Wi-Fi snooping and sniffing: Hackers might use software to see what you are doing online, steal your information and even take over your web session.
- Man-in-the-middle attacks: Hackers can read information sent to or out of your device when it’s in between the opposite device you are communicating with. This is very dangerous because public Wi-Fi networks often haven’t got one of the best or any encryption.
You could want to contemplate the three options we listed first. As a rule of thumb, it is best to guard any sensitive information with a VPN before using a public Wi-Fi network.
How Do I Change My IP Address?
Using a VPN, proxy server or the Tor Browser gives you a unique IP address. But what if you should accomplish that without hiding it for some reason? There are a couple of ways to do that.
The primary one is to reset your router. All you could do is check your IP address through your device’s network settings and unplug your router for a couple of minutes. Whenever you plug it back in, you will find that your IP address has modified barely. One other way is to manually modify your IP address by going through your device’s Settings or System Preferences menu.
Who Owns Your IP Address?
The IP address you are using to read this text immediately is just not yours — you do not own your IP address. Web service providers, network operators, hardware manufacturers and others assign you an IP address so you might be easily identifiable online. Nobody actually owns these strings of numbers. They’re just ID cards that issuers assign and reassign as needed.
What Can You Do With an IP Address?
If a hacker or third party gets ahold of your IP address, they’ll use it against you in multiple ways. The third-party can use it to observe, track and look at your online activity. If you’ve got a piece computer, your IT department may track your IP address to ensure that you are actually working from home as an alternative of watching highlights from the semi-final game the night before.
Hackers who’ve access to your location and web activity can use it to create phishing scams to get more of your personal data. In extreme cases, hackers may route illegal files through your computer that trace back to you.
Should I Hide My IP Address?
Your IP address can provide away your location, web activity, browsing history and more. Hiding your IP address is usually a very good thing to do online when you are concerned about any of the next:
Concealing Your Physical Location
This one is a no brainer. In the event you don’t desire people to have the ability to seek out out where you might be, you’ve got to erase any of the arrows pointing in your direction. Your IP address provides details about your whereabouts, so when you do not like that, hide it.
Protecting Your Online Privacy
Unwanted parties can view, track and monitor your web activity when you don’t take the vital steps to cover your IP address. Your web provider, web sites, networks, governments and even hackers can all see what you have been as much as in the event that they want.
Taking steps to mask your IP address will allow you to keep your secret love of vintage line-dancing tutorials between you and your computer.
Bypassing Geo-Restrictions
Geo-restrictions limit the content you possibly can access online due to your location. Since your IP address shows exactly where you might be, streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu can restrict what’s available to you as a consequence of licensing agreements and web censorship.
In the event you’re in Detroit and need to atone for the most recent Korean dramas, you would possibly not have the ability to access them through your streaming service. The service likely only provides content tailored to the precise region of your IP address. You’ll need to cover and alter your IP address to stream movies from a unique region.
Avoiding Targeted Promoting and Tracking
Many corporations have turned toward IP targeting in an try and create a more efficient marketing process and supply more personalized ads.
Whenever you don’t hide your IP address, corporations can see what you are looking for online and which web sites you visit. They use this data to create targeted advertisements they send to your IP address, which makes them appear in your social media platforms and web sites. Hiding your IP address can prevent this kind of information collection and targeted promoting.
Stopping Potential Cyber Attacks
Hiding your IP address can keep you safer from cyber attacks by masking your IP address. Once a hacker has your IP address, they’ll access information like your location, browsing history, and web activity. They will use this information to trick you or your family members into giving up more personal information through phony emails, messages, calls or texts.
Summary of Money’s How To Hide Your IP Address
Hiding your IP address can protect your location and your information against hackers, your web service provider and anyone else who could also be attempting to get your data.
If you should hide your IP address, do not forget that the three reliable options are getting top-of-the-line VPN services, counting on a proxy server or to make use of Tor Browser.