What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address: Ultimate Guide 2023

If you know anything about computers and the internet, you must have heard of IP addresses. Your IP addresses are denoted in a series of numbers assigned by your ISP which is essential for communication between devices when you are online.

IP addresses are very personal information that are and must be kept to oneself because as they are very important if landed in wrong hands cybercriminals can misuse your IP address for malpractices.

Due to this reason, it becomes very essential for you to make sure that your IP address is kept safe at all times when you are online. While there are many ways of doing so, using a VPN is considered to the best, most effective way of doing the same.

You must also make sure that the VPN that you are using a good and reliable one as not every VPN can be trusted personal data as confidential as your IP address. So, we recommend ExpressVPN for guaranteed results.

What is an IP address?

Any device using a local network or the internet can be identified by its IP address, which is a special address.

IP in IP address stands for Internet Protocol which are rules defining the format of any data or information that is being delivered over the internet or a local network.

IP addresses, which carry information about the location, make devices reachable for communication, are essentially the identifier that allows exchange of any data or information between different devices on any network being used.

There must be a means for computers, routers, and webpages to be distinguished on the internet. A method for achieving this is provided by IP addresses, which are crucial to the operation of the internet.

What if someone has my IP address?

There are many things a cyber criminal can do with your IP address that might land you in unfavorable circumstances. Some of the most common misuses of IP address are explained below:

Know your physical location

An IP address of a device is based on the physical location of the device, which means if someone knows your IP address, they can find out where you are located.

Prevent you from accessing a service

In case any service or website does not want you to continue having access to them they can block access to any device with your IP address and thus can stop you from using them.

Keeping a track of your online activities

Having your IP address can allow someone to keep a track of your online activities. And through this someone can get your personal information which is supposed to be confidential.

Pretend to be you

Your IP address can be used by someone to contact you claiming to be your ISP if they have access to your social media account information. This might lead to your details being misused.

Malware on device

Getting access to your IP address will make it very easy for some third party to infect your device with some kind of malware by installing some application or through some other way.

Stop you from playing online games

In case you violate some rules or due to any other reason, your IP address when identified can get banned which will not let you continue playing.

DDoS attack

If an attacker knows your IP, they could use it to execute a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) assault against your device.

In order to overwhelm your device and disable it, they generate a large number of data requests that appear to be coming from your IP address. It’s known as IP spoofing.

A copyright infringement lawsuit against you

Your IP address might be used as proof in a lawsuit if you are downloading copyrighted content. This process frequently begins with a warning letter from your ISP, but if they notice repeated downloads of protected materials, they may decide to file a lawsuit.

Sending customized spam

Online articles can now contain tracking programs that log visitors’ IP addresses. This has recently become possible for advertisers.

On the basis of the IP addresses they have gathered, advertisers will subsequently deliver specific browser advertising or email adverts.

How can someone get my IP address?

There are many ways for someone to get your IP address. Some of the most common ways people can get to know your IP address are:

using your device 

Your device’s IP address is readily discoverable when an individual who borrows it. To access this information, they only need to access the device settings.

monitoring your website activities

The admins of the websites that you visit are aware of the IP address of anybody who visits their site and their activities on the site. 

Furthermore, opening ads gives ad networks access to your IP address, which helps them create a more comprehensive profile of you.

Through your Activities on forums online

Whenever the forum admins access their server logs information, they can see the IP address of anybody who posts on the forum. You won’t even need to log in for this to happen.

Tracing via your network

They can identify your IP if you are using the internet at work or school or other places where network could be restricted.

Your IP address can also be known if somebody connects to your private Wi-Fi. Third parties may also be able to determine your IP address by logging into the admin section of your router if you are connected to your private network and do not change the Wi-Fi password.

Tracing through your email

Some email systems let the recipient see your IP address. This might be used to monitor the sender together with the data from the email header.

Although though IP addresses and email header information are not shown by contemporary email systems, they are nonetheless accessible.

Via your social media activities

Your IP address will be recorded in the server logs if you engage in any interaction on social networking sites. Companies might sell this data to ad networks and employ it to personalize their commercials.

the use of internet games

Several online games display other players’ IP addresses. A gamer’s genuine identity can be discovered via reverse username search on gaming profiles and IP address spying.

Through free proxies

You could alter the nation from which you seem to be using a proxy. Your traffic will nevertheless need to pass via proxy servers.

If you don’t properly read the terms and conditions, you can give these servers permission to log your IP address and other details.

Using IP address collecting software

There are several software that collect your data like your IP address (and more). They might use it for any purpose, even sell it to third parties.

What is the best way to hide my IP address?

IP address as you know is a unique address for devices using any local network or internet. The IP address of any device is based on the physical location of that particular device.

There are cases such as while bypassing geographical restrictions put on a platform you need to use, you need to hide the original IP address of your device and there are various methods for doing the same. But using a VPN is the best option out of all.

A VPN is designed in a manner that it can easily mask the original IP address of your device.

For the highest level of privacy and security, a VPN masks the IP address and encrypts all of your online traffic.

It accomplishes this by connecting you to a private, encrypted VPN server rather than an ISP-owned one. This implies that third parties cannot monitor, record, or manage your activities improperly.

Detailed steps: Safeguard your IP address with a VPN

Since it is very essential that you keep your IP address safe so that nobody misuses it to your disadvantage and land your into unnecessary trouble, you must know how a VPN can easily help you keep your IP address safe.

If you wish to keep your IP address safe without having to put in too much time and effort and to get guaranteed results at the same time, just follow the steps given below:

Step 1: First, since you need a VPN, start off by signing up for a strong and reliable VPN service. We strongly recommend that you use ExpressVPN.

Step 2: Next you are required to download the app of your selected VPN and install it on your device.

Step 3: All top-notch VPNs require a subscription. So, select a VPN plan you find most suitable and proceed by paying.

Step 4: After you have successfully made the payment and registered on your chosen VPN, sign in to the VPN app by inputting the same credentials using which you have registered for your VPN.

Step 5: On your VPN app, connect to a VPN server in a country from where you’d like to get a fake IP address.

Step 6: Go online and do what you need to without worrying about people getting to your IP address. 

Step 7: If you change your mind, you can also chose to set your location to some other country by simply switching to another VPN server.

Conclusion

IP address are the key to the connections that are made on the internet. It is the IP addresses only that help two internet-connected devices to communicate with each other.

Now, since IP address is such an important affair, cyber criminals might try to get your IP address and use it for some malpractice. Due to this, it becomes very important that you keep your IP address encrypted at all times.

There are many ways for somebody to get your IP address. But at the same time, there are many ways you can prevent that as well. The best, most effective way is to make use of a VPN. A VPN will help you keep your IP address hidden from any evil eyes.

It is equally important that you choose the right VPN for yourself. We strongly recommend ExpressVPN for guaranteed results.