Reference no: EM132518816

When you connect to the Internet, the provider assigns you a unique IP address. Therefore, when you browse pages, read emails or download a movie from the Internet, your activity can be monitored using this technology. An IP address can be used to locate a person and track their activities on the network. To achieve anonymity and protect your privacy, you need to hide your real IP address.

Why do you need to hide your IP address?

You may have your own reasons for hiding your IP address, but here are some popular reasons why people would like to hide their public IP address:

- Hide your identity from your competitors. You can comment on your competitor's products in various forums, and using your IP address will show your identity.

- Hide your geographic location. Some services prohibit users from certain places from accessing their content. Changing the IP address will work around this problem.

- Prevention of tracking by site owners. Each website or webpage you have visited is monitored by a server hosted by the website owner. By hiding your IP address, your web visits cannot be tracked.

If you use the network using a real IP address, a variety of people can access confidential information about you. Given the level of modern threats, you need to protect your identity by hiding a real IP address. There are many tools to disguise it (free and paid).

You can hide your IP address using VPN technology

A virtual private network (VPN) offers a connection to another network, and when connected, your computer receives a new IP address from the VPN provider. Each request from your computer goes through the VPN network, so your true IP address assigned by your ISP is hidden. In addition to hiding your IP address, using a VPN allows you to access any network, even if there are geographical restrictions.
However, you need to be careful when using free VPNs. Sometimes, due to technical problems, changing the IP address may not occur even when VPN is enabled. Use the IP verification sites, for example, https://ip-locations.org/, to make sure that the VPN service is working properly.

Mask your IP address with a proxy

There are thousands of free web proxies that you can use to hide your IP address and anonymous browsing. Viewing through a proxy means that you are not accessing the website directly, but using an intermediate "proxy" that transfers information between you and the target website. You may need a special program to work with proxies.

Use public network

In addition, you can use the free Wi-Fi services offered by cafes, hotels or any public places. This will not solve the problem of blocking services on a geographical basis, but still will not give access to your real IP. However, the use of public networks carries increased risks of theft of your personal data.

Here are the basic techniques of hiding IP addresses. Perhaps you know any other methods?