How to change your IP address, why you’d want to – and when you shouldn’t

Safety and privateness have been scorching matters for a very long time (and that is not going to vary any time quickly). One technique of reaching privateness on the web is to both change or obfuscate your IP deal with, so evildoers and/or third events aren’t in a position to observe you or maintain a historical past of your searching visitors.

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Altering your IP deal with would possibly sound like a process that requires a pc science diploma — but it surely’s not. It is simpler than you suppose. I wish to present you how one can accomplish this and not using a battle.

Earlier than we get began, some rationalization is so as

Totally different IP addresses

One of many first issues to grasp is the distinction between an inner and exterior IP deal with. On your house community, you’ve gotten one exterior IP deal with (which is assigned to the modem/router your service supplier gave you). This IP deal with is what you see for those who open a browser and go to What Is My IP Address. 

This deal with is the one seen by the skin world — and it is one you can not change completely. Nonetheless, you may make it seem to be totally different from what it’s. Why would you wish to do this? Altering the IP deal with as seen by the skin world makes it more durable for others to trace you, particularly for those who change it randomly. Maybe you should transmit delicate information and also you need the IP deal with to seem as if it is in a unique location  — even a unique nation.

Then again, you’ve gotten a number of inner IP addresses — the addresses assigned by your router to the assorted gadgets in your community (desktops, laptops, telephones, tablets, TVs, and so forth.). You’ll be able to change these addresses manually. If in case you have the talent (and the power to entry your router’s configuration window), you’ll be able to even change the IP deal with scheme from one thing like 192.168.1.0 to 10.0.1.0. 

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Altering your inner IP deal with is not almost as essential as how your gadget is seen by the skin world through your exterior IP deal with. Why would you wish to change an inner IP deal with? In a phrase, comfort. Here is a private instance: I’ve a Samba share on my community and I wish to make sure that this machine has an IP deal with that I can simply bear in mind and an deal with that will not ever change.  

A warning is so as: It is not at all times a good suggestion to vary these inner IP addresses. There’s a bit factor known as an IP deal with battle, which occurs when multiple gadget on a community has the identical deal with. When this occurs, a tool may need problem accessing the web or it might trigger slowdowns in your community.

Your inner IP addresses are assigned by your router. Until you configure your router manually to solely assign from a selected pool of addresses (say 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.50) after which solely configure guide addresses from 192.168.1.51 and up, you would possibly run into IP deal with conflicts. To that finish, it is best to solely change inner IP addresses if you understand what you are doing. 

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So, learn on!

Altering your inner IP deal with manually

Listed below are the steps for various working programs.

Keep in mind, altering your inner IP deal with does nothing to your exterior deal with.

Altering your exterior IP deal with

As I discussed, you will not be doing this manually or completely. What you are able to do, nevertheless, is use a service to masquerade your true exterior IP deal with as one thing else. For this, you’ll be able to obfuscate your exterior IP deal with in three alternative ways.

1. VPN

Most fashionable VPN providers not solely masks your exterior IP deal with but additionally encrypt your visitors. That is most likely the best methodology to hide your external IP address. You will discover VPN services for each platform you utilize (Linux, MacOS, Home windows, Android, and iOS). Well-liked VPNs embody NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Surfshark VPN, Private Internet Access, and Proton VPN. You’ll be able to learn extra about how these providers charge (and what options they provide) here. Most VPNs do have an related price.

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2. Tor Browser

If you happen to do not wish to must both pay for a VPN or undergo the method of putting in and configuring such a service, you possibly can at all times use Tor Browser. Tor Browser does every thing a VPN does, solely with extra layers of safety. The one caveat to utilizing Tor Browser is that it solely works in your internet browser visitors, which suggests it will not obfuscate your exterior IP deal with for different network-based providers.

Additionally: How to use Tor browser (and why you should)

3. Proxy Server

That is probably the most sophisticated course of as a result of it requires putting in and configuring the service, which is commonly more difficult than utilizing both a VPN or Tor Browser. On high of that, for those who go for a Proxy Server, you additionally must configure any machine in your community to attach by way of the proxy server. I would not suggest going this route because the issues it provides might be fairly irritating. 

And there you’ve gotten it: The varied methods you’ll be able to change your inner and exterior IP deal with. Do remember the fact that when altering your inner IP deal with you wish to be sure to’re not altering it to at least one that’s already in use (in any other case, you will wind up with IP Deal with battle errors). As in your exterior deal with, your greatest guess is to go along with both a VPN or Tor Browser to obfuscate your exterior deal with, which not solely prevents third events from finding (and even monitoring) you but additionally encrypts your community visitors.