What is in an IP address? A lot, we will say! Your IP address could act as a gateway to all your sensitive personal information, and make you an easy target.
In this article, we will talk about an IP address in detail. We will also discuss how you can easily change your IP address and keep yourself safe and secure.
What is an IP Address?
The IP address or (Internet Protocol Address) is a unique address that identifies the hardware connected to a network. An IP address is similar to your home address. It helps in the identification and location of your connection and hardware. Additionally, it enables your device to communicate with other devices over the internet.
Although an IP address helps you in transferring data and information from the internet, it has a downside associated with it. If your IP address gets leaked, it could be used to glean valuable information about you.
Risks of Someone Finding Out Your IP Address
Did you know that hackers target about 10,000 devices each day? More often than not, an IP address helps them out by revealing all the sensitive information.
Let’s see how an IP address can work against you:
Trace your location
An IP address reveals a lot about you. It could tell the hackers, thieves, and third-parties about the city you are in. Even if you only contacted them once, they can store your IP address, analyze it, and use it against you.
Track your activities
Your IP address can be used to track your activities online. Third-parties can contact your ISP or network administrator, and ask them to reveal your identity online, the websites you visit, and other details.
Why take the risk?
This is why individuals and businesses choose to change or fake their IP addresses. Let’s see how this is done.
How Can You Change or Fake Your IP Address?
If you don’t want to take any risks and want to protect your identity online, thankfully, there is a way you can do it. All you need to do is start using proxies.
A proxy server works by masking your real IP address and showcases an IP address of its own.
Here is how it works:
- When you visit a website, your ISP makes a connection request on your behalf with the destination. In this process, your real IP address is revealed.
- However, when you use a proxy server, your online requests are rerouted.
- The internet request, in this case, goes from your computer to the USP, and then to the proxy server and then to the destination. The destination website thinks that the request originated from the proxy server. In this way, your real IP address remains masked in the entire process.
It is important to mention here that having a fake IP address has evolved to become a necessity now. As cybercrime and virus attacks are on the rise, it has become the need of the hour to adopt required safety measures to keep yourself secure online.
Not Only Individuals, but Businesses Must Hide their IP Addresses as well
Incidents of corporate hacking are becoming common with every passing day. As highlighted by major publications like The Wall Street Journal and others, the security problems are more pronounced today because businesses fail to adopt proper security measures to keep themselves protected.
As a matter of fact, businesses are at an increased risk of facing cyber threats. According to data released by Symantec, only 18% of cybercrimes targeted businesses in 2011, and this number rose close to 43% in 2015.
DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks are on a steady rise. These attacks increased 174% in size in the first half of 2018. Phishing is making the organizations sweat as well. According to an estimate, large enterprises spend an average of $3.7 million in dealing with them annually.
Not only this, but cybercrimes and cyber-attacks also deter investors from investing in your company Thus, it has become necessary for the businesses to ensure their security. Using proxy servers is highly recommended. In addition to keeping your identity safe, proxy servers could also help organizations in gathering business intelligence and the like.
Wrapping Up
Avoid others from spoofing or stealing your IP address. Take the essential steps towards ensuring the online safety and security of your organization. Sometimes simple things make all the difference! An IP address might look less important to you, but it could actually end up playing a far greater role than you could ever expect.
Get a proxy IP address with a reliable proxy server, and ensure that your business operations do not take a hit for security reasons.
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