Finding the IP address of your computer is a common first step when setting up a network or troubleshooting a connectivity problem. Here, we’ll show you how to lớn find your IP address for both Mac & Windows. Then, find out how lớn protect your IP address with a world-class VPN.
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Public (external) IP vs local (internal) IP
Humans use plain-language addresses (such as tienkiemkyduyen.mobi) khổng lồ refer lớn websites. But since computers store everything digitally, they need another system. That’s where IP addresses come in. To understand what an IP address is, think of it as a series of numbers that identifies any type of digital device on the internet.
There are two types of IP addresses: public (or external) IP addresses và local (or internal) IP addresses. The public address is provided by your mạng internet service provider (ISP) và is how the mạng internet recognizes your network. Each device on your local network, including your computer, has a quality local IP address that is usually assigned by the router on your internal network.
You may need a local IP address to do things lượt thích setting up printers or solving technical problems on your network.
If your problem isn’t on your own network — if the trouble is out there on the mạng internet — knowing how lớn find your public IP address is an important troubleshooting step. For example, you may need to tell a tech support person your public IP address if you đại bại your internet connection or if you want to give someone permission to lớn administer your network remotely.
(Though it’s not necessary if you want lớn find your IP address, it is worth knowing that the entire mạng internet is based on a series of standards called TCP/IP. If you’re curious, this article explains what TCP/IP is.)
Even if you think you know your public IP address, you should kiểm tra anyway because it may have changed. In some cases, the IP address you’re assigned by your ISP is “static” — that is, it never changes. But your ISP usually has the right lớn change your public IP address for its own business reasons — what’s called a “dynamic” IP address. The difference between static và dynamic IP addressing is at the root of a lot of connectivity problems.
As you dig into finding your IP address, you may see two different versions, expressed as IPv4 and IPv6. The computer industry is slowly moving from IPv4 khổng lồ IPv6, but for most purposes, you need only care about IPv4. If you want to learn more, you can read about the differences between IPv4 và IPv6, & which is better.
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How to find your public IP address
There are several simple ways to lớn identify your public IP address. The easiest way to find your IP address is lớn use a không tính tiền online tool such as HMA’s IP checker. The HMA tool quickly tells you your IP address, your location, và your ISP.
Another way lớn find your public IP address is khổng lồ use Google search. Simply type in “what is my IP address” or “how khổng lồ find my IP address” and the tìm kiếm engine will tell you — though it won’t reveal your ISP or your location.
Remember that these tools tell you your public IP address — the one the internet uses to find your network — not the local IP address behind your router.
Is my IP address secure?
No. Your public IP address is public. Just as there are tools that let you find your public IP address, there are tools that let other people find your public IP address, too. That might alarm you, & rightly so.
Everything you vì chưng online is tagged with your IP address: your emails, your online shopping activity, your browsing history. Someone who knows your IP address can identify your location, just as you can. This is how online ad tracking works: advertisers can feed you ads based on where you’re browsing from.
It’s hard khổng lồ associate a public IP address with a particular person and, in the vast majority of cases, it’s not worth the effort. But a motivated stalker or cybercriminal might make that effort — so may law enforcement.
The best way lớn disassociate your public IP address from your location is lớn use a VPN (virtual private network). A tool like tienkiemkyduyen.mobi SecureLine VPN routes your mạng internet traffic through another network with a different IP address. That IP address may be assigned to lớn some other place in the world & can’t be traced back to lớn where you really are, effectively masking you.
