What are IP addresses, and how do they identify us?

Our knowledge of modern technologies is often barely skin deep.

A broken-down car is likely to elicit little more than a raised bonnet and some half-hearted prodding before we admit defeat and phone a breakdown service.

Similarly, the internet’s immense complexity frequently stumps us, particularly when it comes to industry jargon.

Take IP addresses, for instance.

The internet wouldn’t function without them, yet many consumers don’t know what are IP addresses or why we need them.

Here’s what you need to know, with as little jargon as possible…

They got your number, they got your name

An Internet Protocol address is a unique profile allocated to every web-enabled device or destination location.

In many cases, an IP address is a numerical version of the domain names we type into web browsers.

Although there are six-part IP addresses (known as IPv6), most are the older and simpler IPv4 format, with a quartet of numbers between 0 and 256 punctuated by full stops.

As an example, the BroadbandDeals.co.uk website’s IP address is 136.244.69.74.

The www.broadbanddeals.co.uk address showing in your browser bar is a simplification, designed to be easier to remember and capable of loading our homepage in any web browser.

(Entering an IP address into your web browser bar isn’t likely to bring up our website, for complex reasons due to the virtual servers our site is hosted on).

IP addresses are also allocated to personal connections. Your broadband router will usually have a fixed IP address used to identify it and any devices accessing the internet through it.

Think of IP addresses as PO box numbers – unique and impersonal addresses which enable correspondence with a particular resource.

What are IP addresses used for?

As well as providing a bespoke address for each online service or connection, IP addresses perform a number of more specific roles:

• Since IP addresses tend to indicate a visitor’s host country, they help websites to display content relevant to people visiting from that country – English text, prices in pounds, etc.
• Companies can also monitor individual IP activity to identify repeat visitors, how long people spend on a particular resource and – crucially – where a site is abandoned.
• IP addresses often betray fraudulent or illicit activity, such as a device in Russia repeatedly being used to try and log onto a local council’s intranet service.
• They govern geolocation restrictions such as blocks on live sporting streams, or the UK-specific filters the Online Safety Act now demands from websites hosting adult content.
• IP addresses associated with the mass distribution of spam emails can be blocked by servers, ISPs or email providers, helping to filter out junk mail.

How do I find an IP address?

On a PC, summon the Command Prompt by typing the letters cmd into the Search bar.

When the black Command Prompt window displays, enter nslookup followed by a space and then the website address you’re interested in identifying (including the www prefix).

Various websites will also conduct an IP address search on request, and app stores contain utilities which enable the identification of a particular internet protocol location.

Of course, being able to identify other websites and domains in this way means your own domestic IP address may also be scrutinised and studied by others.

A mobile device’s IP address will vary as it switches between home broadband, 4G/5G and public WiFi networks, but static devices like desktop computers tend to have a set address regulated by their router.

You can cloak this by using a paid or free VPN, which offer the ability to spoof your location overseas, should it be necessary to circumvent geolocation restrictions on certain activities.

The Tor browser bounces individual packets of web data randomly around the world before reassembling everything on a recipient device, effectively rendering IP addresses untraceable.

However, Tor also accesses the Dark Web – an unregulated repository of highly troublesome content which isn’t recommended unless you’re confident about navigating the Dark Web safely…