Reasons and methods for hiding IP addresses
Your IP address is like your public ID on the internet. Whenever you do anything on the Internet, your IP address lets the server know where you want to send the message. Many websites record these addresses and effectively monitor you, often providing you with more personalized ads that allow you to spend more. For some people, this is an important issue and there are ways to hide your IP address.
Why do you need to hide your IP address?
An important reason people hide their IP addresses is that they can download illegal materials without being tracked. But you may have many other reasons to hide it.
One reason is geographic restrictions and review. Some content is blocked by the government in certain areas, such as in China and the Middle East. If you can hide your real IP address and make it look like you are browsing from another area, you can bypass these restrictions and view blocked websites. Private companies also often geographically lock their content to make it unavailable in certain countries. For example, there have been many instances on YouTube, some of which (such as Germany) directly block copyrighted content, rather than using YouTube's monetization model.
Another reason to hide your IP address is simply to get more privacy and prevent abuse of your personal information. Whenever you visit a website, the server you are connecting to will record your IP address and attach it to all other data the website can learn: your browsing habits, what you clicked, and when you viewed a particular page. They then sell the data to an advertising agency that the advertising agency uses to tailor the ad directly to you. This is why advertising on the Internet sometimes makes us feel weird personal reasons. Even if your location service is turned off, your IP address can be used to track your location.
Here, I made a basic IP lookup that returned my location to the city area where I live. Anyone with your IP address can do this, although it won't provide your actual home address or name to everyone, but anyone with access to your ISP customer data can easily find you.
Spy and sales of user data are not limited to websites. Under US law, your Internet Service Provider (Comcast, Verizon, etc.) has the right to collect information about you without your permission, just like any website owner. Although they all claim that they will not sell customer data, it is certainly worth the money for the advertising company, and there is no law to stop them. This is a major problem because half of the people on the US Internet have only one ISP to choose from, so for many people, it is either monitored or has no Internet.
So how do I hide my IP address?
The two main ways to hide IP addresses are to use a proxy server or use a virtual private network (VPN). (And Tor, which is not suitable for extreme anonymization, but it is very slow and not necessary for most people.)
A proxy server is an intermediate server through which you can route your traffic. The Internet server you are accessing only looks at the IP address of the proxy server, not your IP address. When these servers send you information, it goes to the proxy server, which forwards it to you. The problem with proxy servers is that many services are very dark, monitoring you or inserting ads in your browser.
VPN is a better solution. When you connect your computer (or other device, such as a smartphone or tablet) to a VPN, the computer is just like it is on the same local network as the VPN. All your network traffic is sent to the VPN over a secure connection. Because your computer is on the same network, you can securely access local network resources even if you are on the other side of the world. You can also use the Internet, just like you are at a VPN location. If you use public Wi-Fi or want to visit a website with a geographically blocked location, this will bring some benefits.
When you browse the web while connected to a VPN, your computer will contact the website via an encrypted VPN connection. The VPN forwards the request for you and forwards the response from the website over a secure connection. If you use a US-based VPN to access Netflix, Netflix will see your connection coming from within the United States.
Ok, how do I get a VPN?
Now that you have decided you need a VPN, it's time to figure out how to get a VPN. There are many options, including setting up your own VPN, which is very complicated, or you can even set up your own home VPN - although if you actually don't work at home.
Your best, the easiest option is to get a VPN service from a reliable VPN provider. You can find services that range from a completely free limit, or a small monthly fee.
Installing a VPN is as easy as going to the registration page, downloading the client application to your device - most of the best VPN providers support Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android - install the app, then log in and press the connect button You can magically connect to a VPN on a server elsewhere in the world.
