A factor that worries users a lot online is privacy. As we know, our data has great value and is not always safe. Many marketing companies look for ways to obtain this data to later include us in spam lists, send targeted advertising or even sell it to third parties. This makes many Internet users wonder what they can know with the IP address . We are going to talk about it in this article.
What is the IP address
First of all we want to remember what exactly the IP address is. We can say that it is an online identifier. Basically it is like the DNI of our connection. Each team has a unique address and thus can communicate with other devices.
However, it should be borne in mind that it is normal that on the network we do not expose the unique IP address of our computer, mobile or any equipment. This is so because what is really exposed is the router. It is the IP address of this device that is really visible from the outside.
What happens when we visit a web page or enter an online service? The shared address is that of the router. But of course, there is certain personal information that is shared and that can be used by third parties.
What can they know with our IP address
Let’s see exactly what they could get with our IP address. Keep in mind that certain personal information can always be exposed if we surf the net without any type of protection.
Geographic location
It is not an exact location where they could know where our house is, but they could have a nearby location. They could know, for example, from which city we are sailing.
This is one of the most important data that you could get with our IP address. For example, when sending an email or visiting a website, they could know from where we are doing it.
Operating system we are using
They may also know information about our device . They could know what operating system we are using by knowing our IP.
Something similar occurs with the browser we are using to enter the Internet. They could know the exact version that we have installed. It is data that is exposed when browsing the network.
The browser itself, when entering a website, sends certain information. Those data include which version we use, the IP address, etc. This is what is known as HTTP headers.
Shows the hired operator
Another point that they can know with the IP address is the operator that we are using. This is logical, as we can imagine. Our address will reflect if we are using one operator or another.
It is, therefore, more information that we can obtain from ourselves. This could also give clues as to our exact location.
In short, these are some questions that you could find out about us simply by having the IP address. As we see, they could not obtain more exact names or data from us. Simply those who are exposed when surfing the net.
How to hide the IP address
Many readers may have come this far looking for a way to hide the IP address. Luckily we can make use of different tools, as we are going to show. In this way the data that we have mentioned above would not be exposed.
VPN services
It is certainly a classic. VPN services allow you to hide the IP address. This means that we can modify the location that appears when browsing the network, be able to access restricted content or simply prevent them from knowing the data that we expose.
We have a wide range of possibilities in this regard. There are VPNs that are free and others that are paid, but are available for all types of systems.
Use a proxy
There is also the option of making use of a proxy . Sometimes they are confused with VPNs, since the operation is similar. It basically acts as a mask on the net, without really reflecting what’s behind it.
Also, as in the previous case, we have free and paid options. We can try a wide variety of options.
Use the Tor browser
One last option to hide the IP address is to use the Tor browser . As we know it is based on privacy and security. Among other features, it allows browsing without showing what the IP address is.
