Internet Protocol (IP) Address
What is an IP address?
An IP address is a digital number or ID, like a street address, that is connected to the internet. It tells other devices where the information they are sending should go so that the web pages, emails, or video calls that we are expecting can be delivered to the right place. Currently, there are two different major versions of an IP address in use – IPv4, which is the older version and has a limited number of addresses and IPv6, which is a newer version that was developed to give a lot more unique addresses as the number of devices that are connected to the internet increases.
An IP address can either be a public one or a private one. A public IP address is what shows your home or business on the big internet, whereas a private IP address is what is used to identify the devices that are connected to a local network and are mostly under the control of your router. While a lot of consumer connections have dynamic IPs, which are only valid for a certain period and are given to them by their ISP, businesses are more likely to have static IPs that do not change and are mainly used for hosting services or accessing securely.
Besides being used for the purpose of routing traffic, IP addresses also play a role in geolocation, content delivery, and cybersecurity. They are helpful to services in letting them know where the nearest servers are, and at the same time, they can be used for revealing the user’s approximate location, something that a user should consider if they care about privacy. So far, as the world keeps on adding billions of IoT devices and mobile connections, the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 and better address management are still the main technical issues that need to be solved.
How can I find my device’s IP address?
One can easily find out the public IP address by simply typing “What is my IP” in the Google search bar or by visiting sites. To get the local (private) IP, navigate to the network settings of your device, Windows, go to Command Prompt ipconfig; Mac, open System Settings Network.
What’s the difference between a public IP and a private IP?
The public IP address is the one that your internet service provider assigns to you, and it is the address that identifies your connection on the World Wide Web. On the other hand, a private IP address is the one that is used within your home or office network to allow several devices to share a single public connection securely through your router.
What role do IP addresses play in cybersecurity and blocking threats?
IP addresses are at the core of identifying suspect behaviour on the web. Security measures recognise attacks by using them. Besides, they also serve as the blueprints for sources to be blacklisted, and thus leave them out of the reach of direct attacks and stop any kind of unauthorised access. Among the numerous security arsenal that comprises the firewall, the VPN, and other threat-monitoring tools, they also use IP data for network protection from hackers and bots.