Every computer or system connected online with the Internet requires an IP Address which is also known as Internet Protocol that identifies it from all other millions of systems that are online at the same time. This IP address plays a vital role to get the response of the requests that you make on the Internet whenever you go online.
It also maintains your digital footprints that are which online application and websites you have visited online. Many a time, the significant backlog to IP address is that you cannot view content or site because of geolocation restrictions. This is where using a VPN plays a vital role in IP address masking and never reveals your location online.
What is IP Address
An IP address or Internet Protocol address is a series of numbers that gives identification to your network or device on the Internet. Any activity on the Internet is a series of two-way communication between clients and servers. These servers reply to clients with responses based on the type of request. Every client has a unique IP address that tells servers which is making the requests which have many more details.
That is how Google or any browsers knows where to send the results of a search, the same way how you receive emails addressed to you, and how the overall Internet works in general. It is effortless to find your IP address over the Internet or the application.
The IP is a random address, and they are mathematically produced and allocated by the Internet assigned number(IANA), a division of the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers(ICANN). The same organization is responsible for sorting out domain names and critical factors related to internet communication.
Clients use IP addresses to reach servers, and servers use IP addresses to send request data back to the correct client. This request and response system is part of the IP/TCP model, which governs how devices on the Internet communicate with each other. IP addresses can be classified in different ways like IPv6 vs IPv4, Public vs Local and Dynamic vs Static IP addresses.
Need to Hide Your IP Address
One of the top reasons that users try to hide their IP addresses is to download online content without being tracked. But there is a lot of other essential factors which you might not want your IP address to show up. One reason being geographic restrictions and censorship. Some content is blocked by the government in a particular location which is not accessible or can be viewed in places like the Middle East and China.
In such cases, you can hide your real IP address and make it look that you are browsing from another region or from the same place where the content can view. It is easy to get around these restrictions and view blocked websites. Many companies often have geo-lock range because of many reasons making it impossible or unavailable in certain countries.
Another reason to hide your IP address is for privacy and to prevent your personal information. When you are online or web or access a website, the server you connect to logs your IP address and attaches it all other data. The site can learn everything about you right from what you click on, your browsing habits and how long you spend looking at a particular page or any product page.
It also records the complete flow of your movement on that specific website right from the browsing of contents, products or any other activities spent online.
They then sell this data for advertising companies who use it to target you straight with ads for spending money online or influencing to buy products or services. This is a reason why you find such personalized ads on the Internet while you surf the web online. Your IP address can also be used to track your location even when your location services are turned off.
What is IP Masking?
IP masking is a process of hiding or concealing your IP address by taking over or adopting a false one. This is how it works. Your traffic always needs an IP address, since that is how the website and services which is making the request know where exactly to send the replies. The only way to hide your IP address and still use the Internet is to mask it behind another one and surf the Internet securely. We listed down some of the best tools which can potentially hide your IP address. Each of them offers its kind of blend with security and privacy.
Use of VPN
A VPN works like a middle man server that always encrypts your connection to the Internet. It also hides your IP address. A VPN encrypts all the traffic which is not only restricted to browsing but also in other application which transfers data. The VPN always encrypts the data and then passes it on to its destination. They are the popular privacy solution currently in the market which have been used by organization worldwide, there is a strong workforce to developing and providing VPN services that are easy to use and are secure.
Listed down are some benefits of using VPN
Maintains Privacy: IP address masking provides extra security and privacy to the user while browsing on E-commerce and other websites, as tracking of an original IP address or location is not possible. This way no malware, spyware or tracker etc can be sent to the computer with influential or malicious intent to affect the online user experience.
Enhance Gaming Experience: Gaming experience always enhances with the use of VPN as you can connect to any game server also the once which are not intended for your region. This also improves any lag and reduce ping while playing, which makes the gaming experience much better and smooth. Any information which is being shared within the game also remains safe and secured.
Remote Access: VPN means to create your own network, which is accessible anywhere. You can have remote access to your Home system or Office computer after IP masking, this established connection which is secure and safe. VPN can allow work from outside without any data flow outside the computer unless it has authorized access.
No Geolocation Restriction: VPN can remove all the restrictions which are applied by streaming sites based on IP location, making content reachable from any part of the world.
File Sharing Protection: File transferred using VPN cannot be traced and are encoded which make them safe and secure when files are shared over the Internet using Virtual Private Network.
Use Tor
Tor comprises thousands of volunteer-run server nodes, and it is a free network which hides your identity online using multiple layers of encryption. When you try to access the Internet using Tor which is basically a free browser, your traffic is encrypted and relayed through a series of three relay nodes, each of which decrypts one layer to learn the identity of the next node. When the traffic leaves the final node, it is fully decrypted and sent to the final destination.
This system hides your IP address, but it takes some time for your traffic to complete the whole journey. The browsing speed is affected with the use of Tor but can prove to be usefully considering the anonymity which it offers. But when you compare Tor with VPN, Virtual Private Network proves to be more beneficial, convenient and a faster solution.
Use Proxy Server
The proxy server also called as open proxy or proxies can be used to re-route your browser. They act as a bridge in the flow of your internet traffic. These central servers connect information packets to the desired destination while they keep changing the appearance as they keep switching the proxy. The benefit of this system is that you can get connected to any proxy server in the world.
These servers are very efficient on the low profile, which is needed to bypass geo-blocked content or IP restrictions. There is a risk involved in using free proxies to mask your IP address, many times it slows down the internet connection, some run on compromised machines and may be illegal in some countries.
The significant difference between VPN and Proxies is the lack of encompassing spoofing. VPN will encrypt all and any data coming in and out of the system, but the proxy is very limited to per-application basis.
There are multiple reasons you might want to hide your IP address. These are some of the ways which can be used to mask your IP. But there are various apps, techniques and services available in the market which can help you in hiding IP. However, this seems to be a little scary and unethical but can be used to safeguard resources and data over the Internet.
