How to Find My IP Address? The Easiest Method
How to find my IP address?
Honestly, that has to be one of the most common Google searches related to all things IT, ever.
Whatever you do on your PC, if it’s related to the internet, you’re bound to come across this term - IP. It’s a sensitive piece of information, but the fact of the matter is that a whole lot of people don’t even know their own IP addresses! Without knowing your IP, how are you supposed to protect it?
Worry not, though - in this article, you’ll learn how to find your IP address the quickest and simplest way possible. Before that, however, we’re going to briefly go over the basics - what’s an IP address, what is it used for, how do you change it, and so on.
Also, while reading the article, always keep in mind the fact that you can use these best Website Builders to make your website fast & secure and the IP localised.
What is an IP Address?
Now, first things first - to start off this “How to Find My IP Address?” article right, we should probably cover the most basic question out there - what is an IP address?
IP stands for “Internet Protocol”. So, an Internet Protocol Address is a small string of numbers (periodically interrupted with dots) that serves a purpose of identifying a device within the internet. There are two types of IP addresses - IPv4 and IPv6. Honestly, the only big difference between these two types is the amount of addresses they can hold.
When you are wondering how to check IP address, think about the address of your home. Imagine that you’re ordering something from the internet - a CD, for example. In order for the CD to arrive to you, you’ll have to fill out your home address at checkout. Otherwise, the seller won’t know where they should send the CD, and will thus not send it at all.
An IP address works in a very similar way. Generally, it’s there to serve two distinct purposes:
- To identify you on the network.
- To identify your location on the network.
This is very important to know before learning “how to find my IP address”. To put it very simply, the IP of your device is like an ID card with a location tag. This is actually where all of the security concerns come in.
Why Should You Protect Your IP?
Most people who are googling “how to find my IP address?” are doing so because of one simple reason - to learn how to hide and protect it.
But why would you even want to hide your IP address, in the first place?
In order to answer that question, you need to know that there are actually two types of IP addresses out there - internal (private) and external (public) ones.
Private IP addresses are used within small and enclosed networks. A good example of such a network would be the connection between your printer and laptop - many printers these days use WiFi (meaning that they are remote), and the IP address that your laptop or PC uses for the connection with that printer would be a private one.
Public IP addresses are the thing that most people are worried about, though. So, why would you want to learn “what is my external IP”?
A public IP is one that’s used when you connect your device to the World Wide Web. Generally, this poses two big concerns:
- ISP surveillance. If your public IP is exposed, your ISP (internet service provider) will be able to see everything and anything that you do on the internet. While some people might say “so what - I ain’t doing nothing bad!”, you must also understand that others view this as an invasion of privacy - no one wants some corporation snooping around in their private business.
- DOXING. If you have at least the slightest amount of online presence, this is going to be the main reason why you’d want to find out “how to find my IP address”. Doxing is a process where an individual (or a group of individuals) finds and leaks your private information with malicious intent. Since your public IP address can be used to find out your country, city and even postal code, you can imagine just how bad this can get.
While both of the above-explained situations are rather different in nature, they are still both constantly referenced by people who want to know how to find IP address. With all of that said, let’s finally get to the point - how to find your IP address?
Wondering “How to Find My IP Address”?
This is the Tool for You!
A single search online will show you that there are hundreds (if not thousands) of different tools that you can use in order to learn “what is my external IP?”. You could say - how is this tool different from any others? Well, let me explain.
First of all, it’s super-simple to use. All you have to do is literally press one button, and your IP address is going to present itself on the screen in front of you. A lot of the “IP checking” websites have multiple different popups, pages and misleading links that lead nowhere - it makes the process tedious and, oftentimes, unbearable. Not a problem that you’ll encounter here.
Secondly, some of the IP checking tools can be misleading in that they don’t specify which type of IP address they’re showing. You might be looking at “what is my external IP?”, and a tool pops up and shows you a private one. Without some networking knowledge, it can be really difficult to tell - not ideal! With our IP checking tool, however, you can always rest assured that you’ll be able to find out your external (public) IP address.
Finally, last but not least, some of the tools found online are simply unreliable. They might generate a random string of numbers and present it as your IP - it can be really frustrating in figuring out “how to find my IP address”, and this would ruin the whole point of doing so, entirely.
All of that said, let me reiterate - if you’re looking at how to find IP address, you’ve come to the right place. With just a single click of the button, you can rest assured that you’ll find out your real IP.
I Know My IP… What Now?
So, you’ve pressed the button and now know your public IP address… What now?
Well, if you’re concerned about your online privacy even the slightest bit, the next logical step would be to hide and secure your IP address. How does one do that, you might wonder? Worry not, for the answer is actually pretty simple - a VPN.
VPNs are Virtual Private Networks. The purpose of these tools is pretty straightforward - once you activate a VPN, it immediately provides you with a new IP address (based on the location that you’ve chosen). This is great for a couple of reasons.
First of all, area-restricted content. If you’ve just found out how to check IP address, and you want to watch Netflix USA from, say, Estonia, Netflix is going to see that your IP is based in that country, and will not allow you to view the content that you’d like. With a VPN, however, you can get an IP address that’s based in the US, and thus access the shows and movies that you’d like, too.
Also, torrenting. If you want to participate in Peer-to-Peer file sharing activities, but are afraid that your ISP is going to find out and punish you, VPNs are the way to go - you’ll be able to send and download files safely, without having to fear any repercussions.
Finally, overall security. Browsing through the internet, you never know what kinds of viruses and other malware you might encounter. Learning “how to find my IP address” doesn’t really mitigate the problem! With an active VPN, however, you’ll never have to worry about your information leaking to third parties - it’s a win-win scenario!
So, with all of that out of the way, you can see why it’s so important to not only learn “how to find my IP address”, but also figure out how to secure it.
Conclusions
At this point, I can safely say - congratulations! If you’ve read everything up until now, you should not only know “how to find my IP address”, but also be a lot more knowledgeable on what exactly an IP address is, in the first place.
Remember, though - learning “how to find my IP address” isn’t going to be enough in order to keep your identity and private information safe - you’re going to need a VPN to do so. With the best VPN in the entire industry, you’ll be able to browse the internet without fear of your information leaking, or your identity being stolen and used with malicious intent.
I hope that this tool was useful to you, and I wish you all the best in protecting your personal information! Remember to always wear a VPN, and I’ll see you next time!