How to Hide My Public IP Address? And Why ?

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Let’s say I am one of those people who does not know how to hide my IP address and yet want to do so for a number of different reasons. Hiding an IP is not uncommon among internet users and is something that is being done by a vast majority.

However, many of us may not know how to safely hide our IP addresses. Here you will find how you can hide your IP and will also learn the many reasons for doing so.

How to hide your Public IP Address?

Before going into any details, it is worth considering as to what IP really is? IP Address or Internet Protocol Address, is a unique code assigned to you by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) when you connect to the internet.

Just like your home address, your IP address can be used by the respective ISP or regulatory agencies to track you down. Your IP address also allows companies to monitor your web surfing activities for marketing purposes.

There are a number of ways in which you can hide this address and make yourself anonymous. One of the easiest and most popular ways is to use a proxy server.

A number of proxy servers exist that can be found over the web for free. A proxy acts as a middleman between your computer and the server that you connect to. Hence, you are assigned the IP of the proxy rather than of the server.

So how can you actually connect to a proxy? Various services offer a number of proxies. For example, at limeproxies, you can get a set of proxies that you can connect to for an affordable price.

As such, once you have purchased a plan, you can choose a specific proxy from the given list and then change your proxy settings on your PC from the Settings menu.

For those who are on Chrome, you will need to go to Settings -> Advanced Settings -> Change Proxy Settings. Click on the Connections tab and click LAN settings. Check the tick box in the Proxy Server section. You can then enter the proxy and the port number. Click OK to connect.

More help on setting up your Proxy

However, one may wonder as to why one should purchase a proxy rather than getting one for free. The benefit of using a paid proxy is quite clear-cut. It is much safer and more secure than a free proxy. You also benefit from having access to technical support that can help you if any problem occurs.

Nevertheless, using a proxy is just one of many ways in which you can hide your IP address. There are other methods that can be used to achieve anonymity.

A VPN may be used that allows you to hide your actual IP address. It does so by re-routing your internet traffic through a different server. This implies that when you connect to the internet using a VPN, you get connected to another server whose IP address is assigned to you.

Additionally, you can simply use a public Wi-Fi service. An IP address is assigned to you by your specific ISP. This implies that if you use a public Wi-Fi, your IP address will automatically be changed to the IP of that particular ISP. Hence, you can use the same device with a different IP address.

Why hide your IP Address?

Given all the discussion as to how you can easily hide your IP address, the next question that comes to mind is why should one hide an IP address. Below are some of the reasons that justify hiding doing so.Privacy

For most of you, the answer may be pretty simple. Concealing your IP address and thereby making yourself anonymous allows you to ensure your privacy. Indeed, it is a much better way to protect yourself from unnecessary attention from companies and agencies.Stop receiving unwanted ads

Another reason for hiding your IP Address is to make sure that you do not receive unwanted advertising. It can be pretty annoying to have irrelevant ads popping up while you are enjoying your favorite movie. Hiding your IP gives you a leeway around this issue.Protect your Privacy

Furthermore, hiding an IP address through a proxy offers a great number of benefits. Firstly, you are not only making yourself immune against cyber criminals and hackers who may be after your private and sensitive information, but you are also letting yourself surf freely and access websites from overseas.

As mentioned earlier, a proxy lets you connect to any number of external servers. This means that you can access the websites of another country despite not being their physically. This way, you may be able to access websites that might be blocked in your own country.Torrenting

In addition, hiding your IP address allows you to torrent safely. Various countries have strict laws surrounding torrenting websites. In order to avoid any sort of scrutiny and speculation, you can hide your real IP and access torrent sites without being noticed.Work at your own pace

Moreover, hiding an IP address may simply be a part of accessing your work network from home. You may be using a VPN service to do so. Many employees benefit from this as they are easily able to work from home at their own convenience while being connected to their organization’s network.Security

A more interesting reason relates to using public Wi-Fi hotspots. As you may already know, these hotspots are unsecure and by using them, you make yourself vulnerable to all sorts of security threats. As such it is safer to hide your IP when using such unsecure networks and thus surf freely without any worry.

Conclusion

To sum up, hiding your IP address gives you a lot of flexibility in terms of allowing you to surf freely from wherever and whenever you want. Also, you can access a myriad of content that may be restricted in your country and as such, you can easily stream online content.

With a number of tools available to hide an IP address, it has become ever more secure and safe to enjoy web surfing from anywhere in the world.