A new IP address will be generated that might (or might not) be preferable to the old one.
If they refuse, you can always physically unplug your modem from the internet for a few hours, then plug it back in. Still, some will make the change without any questions. They don’t have to do it and might be suspicious of your motives. In order to do that, you’ll have to call them and make the request in your nicest voice.
Most internet providers will assign you a dynamic IP address, which is a good thing because it can be changed.
He’s probably a professional hacker who would like nothing more than to sell your personal financial information on the dark web. That innocuous-looking guy sitting beside you in spectacles and wearing a corduroy jacket with patches on the elbows? To access the internet via public Wi-Fi without the encryption protection of a VPN is simply silly. It’ll also provide you with a front row seat to one of the most dangerous hacking environments you can find. This will most certainly result in a new IP address. Depending on the exact country you’re in, there’s a good chance it will be impossible using a good, old-fashioned, straightforward internet connection.Īs with switching to your data plan, you could also take your laptop to the Wi-Fi provided at your local Starbucks or public library. From the perspective of a person or companies like Facebook or Google snooping in on your activities, they will see an IP address that leads back to the proxy but not to you.įor example, say you live in a country outside the United States and want to access a geo-blocked resource like the Food Network’s website. Think of it as a middleman for your internet journeys. Use a Proxy ServerĪ proxy server is simply one that receives your data and mirrors anything you do at your computer. This is a quick, cost-effective way to hide your IP address. You’ll still have to keep your regular internet service provider, but the best VPN services shouldn’t cost more than an extra ten bucks a month – and some are less than five bucks. The good news is that opening an account and connecting to a VPN only takes a few minutes. This process makes it look like you’re accessing the internet from wherever their server is located. The way your IP address gets hidden by your VPN provider is by masking what your actual IP address looks like with their own IP address, then encrypting this connection-essentially known as a VPN tunnel.
In other words, they want to mask their IP address. Obviously, or maybe not so obviously, there sometimes arises a situation where a person would prefer to go online without being identified. The bottom line is that, if you want to connect to the internet, an IP address is the only way to do it.
This unique identifier can be compared to a license plate or house address. Every device that connects to the internet – that includes mobile devices, laptops, desktop computers, printers, and more – can be traced back to a particular physical location courtesy of what is called an IP (Internet Protocol) address.