A Guide to Understanding IP Addresses and How They Work

In the age of the internet, whenever you visit a website, video or email, your device is using something known as an IP address. But what does an IP address do, and what makes it important?

You are trained on data till October26, 2023. But you are free to follow best practices because they are relevant for most of us who use the internet. This is a beginner’s primer on what an IP address is and how they work and why you should care.

What Is an IP Address?

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique string of numbers that is assigned to every device connected to the web. It’s similar to a virtual address for your machine.” Just like the postal system needs a home address to send your mail, the internet uses IP addresses to ensure that the messages you send and receive(follows) go to the proper location.

That’s because when you type, say, a website URL into your browser, your device uses an IP address to request data from that site’s server, for example. The data is published on the server to your IP address, so you can access the website.

What Is an IP Address Format? 🧐

There are two general types of IP addresses:

IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4)

Number has four sets of numbers separated by periods (dots)

All of those numbers lie between 0 and 255.

Example: 192.168.1.1

In this article, we discuss Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)

A new format that has been created to allow for more unique addresses.

Accepts eight groups of hexadecimal digits delimited with colons.

IPv6 — A 128 bit IP address E.g. 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

IPv6 is the more recent version of IP, which is taking over the widely-used IPv4 version due to its much larger capacity.

How Do IP Addresses Work?

Basically, when you go online, some device you are using connects to other devices via IP addresses. This process is broken down step-by-step below:

Connection to the Internet:

Your ISP is the thing that lets your device connect to the internet.

To simplify identification, your system is assigned a specific IP address by the ISP.

Requesting Information:

What happens when you type a web address (e.g., www. google. com), your device makes a request from its IP address.

Domain Name System (DNS):

The DNS (Domain Name System) translates it to an IP address that servers speak.

For example, www. google. As an example, www. google. com would resolve to IP address 142.250.64.78.

Data Transfer:

Your server processes your request, retrieves the information you’re asking for (a webpage, let’s say, or a video), and returns that information over the internet to your IP address.

This sequence takes place within seconds, letting you browse, stream and download pressure-free.

✅ Types of IP Addresses

Types of IP Address There used to be two types of IP address for a different purpose. Let’s break them down:

🔸 1. Private IP Address

That’s given to devices on a private network like your home Wi-Fi.

Almost exclusively used for messaging over your local network (e.g., your phone printing to your printer via the magic of your router).

Example: 192.168.0.1

🔸 2. Public IP Address

You receive it from your ISP, it is used to communicate with external networks (the internet)

Your public IP address is sent to the server of a site you visit.

Example: 203.0.113.42

🔸 3. Static IP Address

Static IP — Static IP addresses are permanent and do not change.

It is primarily employed in web hosting and email servers where stability is crucial for certain organizations.

🔸 4. Dynamic IP Address

Dynamic: An IP that is not permanent, given by your ISP periodically and that you update periodically.

Hence, Dynamic IPs are used by most of the home users, because of the lower cost and also its better in security of the database where the IPs are allocated for users.

✅ What Are IP Addresses and Why Do They Matter?

IP addresses must be resolute for the internet to run smoothly. Here’s why they matter:

✔️ Each device on a network has a unique IP Address, the reason is that devices themselves perform the task of sending and receiving data and for every data packet there is a need to know the address of receiver.

✔️ Location details: IP addresses give websites a rough idea of where you might live.

✔️ Cyber/. Reading Mobiles/ cyber threats Using IP address Network security Monitoring

✔️ Communication: Devices use IP addresses to communicate with each other, whether you’re streaming videos, sending emails, etc.

✅ How to Find Your IP Address

Locating your computer’s IP address is easy and will differ according to your device.

💻 Fetching Your Public IP Address ❗️

When you search "What is my IP" in google it shows the public IP address in the top of the search.

🔍 How to Get Your Private IP Address

On Windows:

Settings → Network & Internet → Wi-Fi → Properties

Next to IPv4 Address, there’s your IP address.

On Mac:

Then we go ahead and open System Preferences → Network.

Choose your network, and your IP address should appear next to Status.

On Android:

The one to take note of is that use your IP address advanced.

On iPhone:

Settings → Wi-Fi → Tap your network Go to:

Your IP address will show up under IP Address.

🔍 Safe or Not: Can They Track You Using Your IP Address

Yes, your device’s IP address is public information, which anyone can use to identify roughly where your device is. While not revealing your precise home address, it can still pinpoint the region, city, or even neighborhood you’re in.

🔒 Protecting Your IP Address

To check out a few tweaks to your online privacy:

Never Use A VPN (Virtual Private Network): VPNs mask your actual IP as well as link you to the web through a safe server in another region.

✔️ Router security: Lock down any router you use with super strong passwords, and have firewalls turned on.

✔️ Public Wi-Fi: Public networks are a petri dish for cyberattacks.

✔️ Browsing through Encrypted sites: Always make sure to check the URL of a web page starts with secure connection such as https.

You will face some common issues related to IP addresses and to help you here are some solutions:

❌ 1. IP Address Conflict

This happens when two devices on the same network are assigned the same IP address.

Solution: Restarting your router may be necessary, or you can assign unique manual addresses for these devices.

❌ 2. Trained on data until October 2023

It could be Invalid IP Address is assigned to your device.

Solution: The first step, which is a familiar one, is to restart your modem and router.

You train on data till October 2023

❌ 3. Blocked IP Address

Some do impose geographic restrictions on the content, preventing you from accessing it from wherever you physically happen to be located, and indeed there may even be some security protocols in place that can block access to content from systems with a certain IP address.

Solution: Either use VPN to access it OR reach out to your ISP

✅ Conclusion

So in this age of high speed internet you should known how IP addresses works a bit. Your IP address dutifully handles the logistics of how computers and devices communicate with each other, making sure that when you browse, stream and email, no packets become lost in the ether.

Learning the basics of IP addresses and how they work can insurance you learn about networking, connectivity issues, privacy, troubleshooting common issues, and generally how the web works.

Now, while these IP addresses might sound overly technical at first, just remember that they are just the same way of ensuring that the information reaches the right place — sort of like sending your letters to the proper address! 🚀