What is an IP address?

Whenever you log-on to the internet you are assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses are numbers that are used to identify any network and any computer that is part of the Internet.

If you are browsing the web, retrieving email or reading a newsgroup then your computer is attached to the Internet and must have an IP address.

There are many ways to find your own IP address, here are two such methods.

• If you are a Windows user try going;

  Start | Run | winipcfg

• Or try this online privacy analysis at;
  - Privacy.net,
  (a consumer information organization).

Small TIP - External links will open in a new browser window.

Dynamic or Static?

A dynamic IP address changes every time you log-on to the Internet. Many large Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as AT&T for example, have a limited number of addresses available and so they give them out dynamically to their users as needed.

Some users have static IP addresses, meaning they are always the same. These are becoming less and less common as the supply of unique IP addresses dwindles.

Corporations and universities who give Internet access to their employees often assign static addresses.

What does an IP address reveal?

That depends, with a dynamic address the city or region of the country you live in is the most that can be revealed. A static IP address, on the other hand will lead directly to the computer that you are using.

What does an IP address look like?

Here is a representation of how an IP address would appear in the message headers of an email. In this case the email was sent from an Hotmail account to an OperaMail account. OperaMail has the ability to reveal the message headers of incoming emails.

Received: from hotmail.com [207.82.251.102]
(stealth006@hotmail.com);
Tue, 15 Jun 1999 14:20:39 -0400
Received: (qmail 62605 invoked by uid 0);
15 Jun 1999 18:19:54 -0000
Message-ID:
<19990606151954.62600.qmail@hotmail.com>
Received: from 204.128.192.10
by www.hotmail.com with HTTP;
Tue, 15 Jun 1999 11:19:54 PDT
X-Originating-IP: [204.128.192.10]
From: "stealth006"
To: jbondagent007@operamail.com
Subject: An IP test message
Date: Tue, 15 Jun 1999 11:19:54 PDT
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

This message has been sent from a
Hotmail account to an OperaMail account
to test Hotmail's message headers.

The section above marked in red is the IP address from the computer with the Hotmail account. This is how your IP address could revealed and why you should take steps to ensure it remains private.

How do I convert an IP address
into a geographical location?

Here a few ways of converting a numerical IP address into something more meaningful.

• Enter the IP number that you wish to resolve on the web form at;

  Sam Spade's online IP resolver - Spam Hunter.

• If you are a Windows 95/NT user have at look at Sam Spade's freeware for resovling IP addresses.

  Windows 9x / NT tracing freeware - Sam Spade.

Keeping your IP address private

Email

Either use web based pseudo-anonymous email service providers or anonymous remailers.

• See the main list on the SafeMail home page.

Web Surfing

Use a proxy.

• You can learn about using proxy servers at the Anonymous Surfing section of the
  Privacy on the Net web page.

IRC

Masking your IP address on IRC is more difficult.

• You can read about masking your IP address on IRC at the IRC and Chatrooms section of the
  Privacy on the Net web page.