An IP address is enough to track your online activity, personal data, and other information. But what exactly is an IP address? It’s a unique number assigned to your devices to interact with the internet.
Do you own internet-enabled devices? If yes, you’ve got an IP address. The problem with this address is it allows others to see your geolocation and other details. So, it’s essential to protect it from hackers to prevent fraudulent activities.
Here are a few best ways to hide public IP location and enable high-end protection walls. The #1 reason to love this article is it boasts both free and paid ways to hide and protect your IP. Are you curious?
Let’s move in.
How Do I Know My IP address?
It’s pretty easy to know your public IP address. Go to Google chrome and enter the keyword “What’s my IP address?”
It pops up your IP address at the top of the search result. It looks like 124.245.54.67. However, you can also get “2123:ab34:84g4:1243:1254:9h2e:0067:7123.” Don’t fret. Both are IP addresses, but the former is IPv4, and the latter is an IPv6 address.
Although your IP addresses vary based on the internet’s working performance, you’ll have unique IP addresses worldwide. Since anyone can see your public’s IP address, it’s essential to protect it from malicious activities.
Significantly, businesses should take high-end safety measures to safeguard their online activity from hackers. Read more business-related news for regular updates on various business aspects.
6 Ultimate Ways To Hide Your Ip Address
So far, you have understood how to know an IP address. Now, let’s dig deeper into how to hide it.
Use Best VPN Services
Using a Virtual Private Network is one of the best ways to mask your IP address. It encrypts the data sent from the origin point to the destination source. Hence, only the server’s IP is visible to the websites or apps rather than your IP address.
Moreover, hiding your IP address is pretty easy using VPN services. Download the app and sign up for the best VPN subscription plan. That’s it. You’ve got a safe online search.
Use A Proxy
Proxy works similar to VPN. VPN is known as the type of proxy. Yet, here proxy means SSL, SOCKS proxy, or other related security enhancement servers. The only problem with these proxies is that they lack encryption and high-end security features like VPN.
Another significant difference between VPN and the proxies mentioned above is DNS traffic. Proxies don’t have DNS traffic. So, your IP address is visible to third-party sources during website requests. Usually, proxies are enough to hide your IP address.
Use TOR
TOR(Aka, The Onion Router) is a global anonymous network that ensures the highest encryption. Once you connect the devices to TOR, it encrypts the internet traffic, and only your last server is visible to websites. It uses a sequence of nodes to protect and hide the IP address.
Whenever you land on a website, TOR changes the sequence of the nodes, and hence it’s tricky to track the data or perform various malicious activities. Download the TOR browser right now to enjoy the best online security.
Leverage NAT Firewall
NAT(Network Address Translation) Firewall works best to hide your private IP address. However, it doesn’t hide your public IP address. A NAT-enabled router masks the private IP address and shares the same public IP address for all online interactions. Furthermore, this firewall eliminates the communication between data packets without a private IP address responding to your request.
Unplug Modem
Although unplugging and plugging the modem again isn’t the surest way, it’s an easier way to change your IP address. Your IP address will also be lost when the ISP loses the connection. In such cases, the ISP reassigns it after the connection is established.
Make sure you leave the modem unplugged overnight to use this tactic effectively. Or else, you can ask the ISP to change your IP address frequently.
Note: The ISP should leverage dynamic IP addresses to change your current IP address by unplugging the modem.
Opt For IP Address Renewal
Suppose your internet router has connected via wifi or ethernet cable; you perhaps established a private or local IP address. Although hiding this IP address isn’t necessary, it needs to be changed occasionally to avoid mishaps.
Follow the below-mentioned simple steps for renewal.
- For Windows
Navigate to the “Command Prompt” and “Run as Administrator.” Then, enter the commands “ipconfig/release” and ipconfig/renew” to renew the IP address successfully.
- For Mac
Navigate to the “Apple” menu if you’ve got a Mac and then to “System Preferences.” Choose the “Network” option and select the connected network. After that, click the advanced option. Finally, tap on the “TCP/IP” tab and “Renew DHCP Lease.” That’s it. You’ve renewed your IP address.
Conclusion
The IP address reveals a lot of your geolocation, personal data, and online activity. It’s essential to hide it to protect the identity of hackers. There are several ways to hide your IP, such as leveraging VPN, proxy, Tor, NAT firewall, unplugging the modem, and renewing your IP address. Choose the best tactic to hide your IP address from hackers, websites, advertisers, and other third-party sources.