Ip: what is it, how does it work and how to hide it

Today we want to talk to you about IP, a concept that we hear about continuously, but that many users are unaware of its true meaning. Do you know what an IP address is ? How does IP work ? And how can an IP be hidden ? All this and more, we will tell you in this guide on IP, where you will find everything you need to know.

On the Internet, we live surrounded by computer concepts, but many of the ordinary people are completely unaware of these concepts. Obviously, IP is something that identifies us on the Internet, but obviously, there is much more behind it.

IP: What is it, how does it work and how to hide it

The meaning of an IP (Internet Protocol) address is something like a number that defines us within a network. It is not the same as the Mac address. The IP address is chosen by us manually or assigned to us when connecting to a network. Everyone has an assigned IP. Only there are people who can “falsify” or hide it.

Is the IP of a PC always the same ? Not always, it can vary, for example using an Internal network if we used the DHCP protocol. Now that you know what an IP means and you don't always have the same IP, how does it work?

The operation of an IP is simple. Let's say it is the router that assigns the IPs within a range. The objective is to be able to identify each computer in a unique way, so that two computers cannot have the same IP address.

You, in your house, if you are on Wi-Fi you will be connected to a router that is the one that is assigning you that IP address. These numbers are the ones that identify you on the Internet and you can know your IP in many ways.

How can I find out what my IP address is ? This you will be able to know both by a command in console or by opening an Internet page, one of the most popular is www.cualesmiip.com. Just by clicking on this website, it will tell you what your IP is, making it the fastest and most reliable way for you to know it. And remember that it can be static or dynamic. Although the normal thing is that your Internet provider provides you with a dynamic IP address, which may change but which you could also have for months.

If it's still not clear to you what an IP address is, think about a car's license plate. Is the same. The car registration is an identification number that identifies the car on the road, since the IP is the registration that identifies you on the Internet. If you do something wrong, your IP can give you, so be careful (later we will tell you tricks so that you learn to hide your IP).

But on the Internet, although you apparently see domain names (DNS servers that are “Domain Name Server”), they are responsible for translating the IP associated with that URL, because it is easier for people to write “Google” than to write the IP.

What types of networks exist?

IP addresses are made up of a 32-bit number in groups of 8 bits (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx), which allows you to use 5 types of networks (A, B, C, D, Y). Depending on the network, IP is divided in one way or another.

• Networks A: First 8 bits of the address to identify the network, and the other three segments of 8 bits each to identify the computers. It allows creating up to 126 different networks and a maximum of 16, 777, 214 computers. Networks B: two groups of 8 bits to identify the network. The remaining two to identify the computer. It allows creating 16, 384 networks and 65, 534 teams. C networks: first three groups of 8 bits as network identifier and the remaining 8 as computer identifier. It allows to have 2, 097, 152 networks and 254 computers for each network. Networks D: all 8-bit segments to identify the network. Their IPs range from 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. They are multicast networks. Y Networks: reserved by IANA (Internet Asigned Numbers Authority).

Is it possible to hide the IP address?

As we already anticipated you at the beginning of the article, it is possible to hide the IP address when you browse the Internet. You can easily do this from the incognito mode of the browser. This allows to partially hide the IP. It works a bit to get out of trouble, but it is not 100% foolproof, there are many better methods such as browsing using Tor, which you can also do easily in a few steps.

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If you want to know everything about Tor, don't miss the following guides:

• What is Tor? How does Tor work?

But basically, the Tor project is a browser that allows you to surf the Internet anonymously. It is very powerful and popular in the world of cyber security, because it does not reveal the IP address of your computer when you connect to a computer on the Internet and browse web pages. No one will know who you are. It is one of the most reliable and fastest methods. Basically, you download it, launch the Tor browser and voila, you will be browsing safely. And if instead of hiding it, what you want is to change it, you can also do it with programs and assign yourself an IP from another country (for example).

Obviously, there are better methods, but they are also more complex, so you would already need to use proxy servers to hide your IP address through them. It works in such a way that when you browse through a proxy and a computer asks for our IP, we are giving the address of the proxy, not ours, so it is possibly the most advanced method. Let's say that Tor can be used now at home in a few minutes, easy and fast, but the proxy server is not so fast.

We also recommend that you keep an eye on the following…

• What is a VPN? and What is it for? Best free VPNs for Windows 10

Was this guide helpful about what IP is, how it works, and how to hide IP addresses ? If you have doubts, leave us a comment that we will help you in everything that is missing. And remember… use Tor but, don't do evil !!