Whats An IP Address Anyway?

Your IP address or Internet Protocol address is a unique number, which is given to every device connected to the Internet.  Every IP address consists of four numbers which are separated by periods.

Your IP address looks like this... 38.103.63.57 ... and is totally unique to your computer.

It is possible to have both an Internet IP address and a local Network IP address. The local Network IP address identifies you within that network and its use doesn’t usually extend outside of that network. You may have a small network setup at home or perhaps you are on a network at work. Your local IP address applies to such networks but not when you are accessing the Internet.

So why do you need an Internet IP address? Well basically each time you visiting a website you are asking another computer called a web server for information. Think of your Internet IP address like a postal address. When you request information you have to provide an address which you want the information to be sent to. Your IP address is where you want information like web pages sent to. On the Internet you can request information in many ways but the most common is to simply click on a hyperlink. Nearly every website in the Internet contains hyperlinks. Every time you click on a link you are requesting information. This information may be on another part of the website you are visiting or on a completely different website. Wherever the information is held, the related web server needs your IP address in order to send you this information.

So What Is My IP Address Revealing About Me?

Most websites keep statistics about visitors to their website. This will normally include your IP address and may also include other details including which country you are from, perhaps even details of your state and city. Normally this information is simply used to determine where visitors are coming from but there is a danger it could be used for other purposes.

Always make sure your computer is secure and has the latest updates and patches. You should make sure you have a Virus Scanner and Firewall installed and that they are updated regularly. Since you are handing over your computers address each time you visit a website you want to make sure your computer is secure and there are no backdoors that will allow anyone to access it via the Internet.

Can My Internet IP Address Reveal My Actual Street Address?

Although your IP address provides a lot of information about your physical location including country and city it is unlikely to provide an accurate street address. You will notice that I used the word ‘unlikely’. The reason for this is that it is possible to obtain a longitude and latitude for Internet IP addresses. In a process called Reverse Geocoding it is possible to obtain an address from longitude and latitude.

However, the longitude and latitude provided for Internet IP addresses is at present highly inaccurate at the street address level. The location given will normally be close by and may even be in your street but is highly unlikely to be your actually house number and street.

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) will have your street address on record but this information is not made public. You should however remember that should you break any laws online that the police can easily get your address from your ISP.