对于一个仅由 0 和 1 组成的大世界，互联网有时可能是一个可怕的地方。如果您已经上网多年，您的信息可能已经泄露或密码被盗。将其归结为随领土而来。
即使遵守最严格的安全标准，如果信任您的信息的网站遭受数据泄露，您也无能为力。
在此类违规行为中，以及互联网上的其他任何地方，我们都会附加一个称为 IP 地址的标识符。虽然您的 IP 地址不像指纹那么神圣，但它仍然是您值得保护和理解的数字信息。
那么，如果有人掌握了您的 IP 地址会怎样？坏事会发生吗？在本文中，我们将探讨几个主题： 什么是 IP 地址以及如果您的 IP 地址被泄露，将会面临什么风险。
什么是 IP 地址？(What Is An IP Address?)
虽然有很多网站可以通过技术方式分解 IP 地址，但大多数在线用户的经验并不丰富，需要外行的解释。
简而言之(Simply)，IP 地址是一串数字，以句点分隔为四个八位字节，每次连接到 Internet 时都会分配给您。IP 地址以多种方式分配，但最值得注意的是，它将直接与您的物理位置和互联网服务提供商 ( ISP ) 相关。互联网服务提供商是为您提供互联网的公司，例如Comcast或 AT&T。
IP 地址的一个示例是 69.89.31.226。该地址是在设备建立与 Internet 的连接时分配给设备的，虽然它不是永久性的，但仍会根据每个单独的ISP通常特定的某些条件分配给设备。
对于大多数ISP(ISPs)，只需断开路由器并在几分钟后重新连接即可更新您的 IP 地址。对于其他人，您可能会被要求致电执行 IP 释放和更新。有数十亿个 IP 地址在IPv4空间中浮动，即前面描述的四字节格式 - 事实上，在分配所有可能的IPv4地址之前，我们很快就必须转换为(IPv4)IPv6 。
如何找到我的 IP 地址？(How Can I Find My IP Address?)
在Online Tech Tips上，我们最近发表了一篇长文，解释了查找公共 IP 地址(find your public IP address)的多种方法。
但是，最简单、最轻松的方法是在Google(Google)搜索中输入诸如“我的 IP 地址”之类的短语。在搜索结果上方，Google会立即显示您当前的 IP 地址。
我的 IP 地址揭示了什么？(What Does My IP Address Reveal?)
从表面上看，IP 地址看起来只是一个电话号码。然而，就像互联网允许我们追踪电话号码以获取更多识别信息一样，您的 IP 地址实际上可以告诉您很多关于您的信息——包括您的位置。
不过，不要惊慌！IP 地址的地理位置和设备的GPS位置是两个非常不同的东西。对于移动设备，完全可以精确定位物理位置。只有一个IP地址，它不是。
要准确了解您的 IP 告诉您的信息，最好的方法就是亲眼看看。我们建议使用 IP 地址数据提供程序，例如IPinfo。IPinfo有一个页面，您可以导航到该页面并立即查看有关您的 IP 地址的所有免费可用信息(all of the freely available information about your IP address)。
在此页面上，您将看到城市、邮政编码、坐标、时区、当地时间，甚至是与您的 IP 地址相关的地图。但是，您会注意到这些信息都不是准确的。此信息可能指向附近的区域，但远不如GPS位置数据准确。这是有意的。
此地理位置信息实际上与您的ISP相关，您将在同一页面上看到相关信息：主机名、ASN、组织（通常是ISP名称）、连接速度等。您在地图上看到的确切位置应该是您的ISP最近的服务器所在的位置。
如何保护我的 IP 地址？(How Can I Protect My IP Address?)
您的 IP 地址远非私密，几乎您在线互动的每个网站或服务都会以一种或另一种方式使用它。虽然您的 IP 地址本身并不能泄露某人需要出现在您家门口的所有信息，但它仍然是您可能想要保护的宝贵隐私。
如果有人想找到您，IP 地址可以帮助确认怀疑并搜索更准确的信息。IP 地址还会使您面临拒绝服务攻击的风险，这可能会使您的互联网连接受到压力或连续数小时完全断开连接。
保护您的 IP 地址的最简单方法是保持与VPN的连接。VPN(A VPN)或虚拟专用网络通过代理服务器为您的 Internet 连接建立隧道，以便您的真实 IP 地址仅由VPN提供商看到。VPN分配的 IP 地址是网站和潜在恶意用户将从您的设备看到的地址。
虽然大多数VPN(VPNs)不是免费的，但您可以查看在线技术提示的五种最佳 VPN 应用程序(best VPN apps)列表，了解有关如何使用它们来保护您的 IP 地址的更多信息。
不用担心 - 没有额外的上下文，当有人搜索您的 IP 地址时，地图上不会出现任何图钉。但是，您的 IP 地址可以提供与您的大致位置相关的重要线索，如果错误的人得到了它，DDoS 攻击(a DDoS attack)可能会随之而来。
HDG Explains: What Is An IP Address & Can It Really Trace Me To My Door?
For one big world composed of nothing mоre than 0s and 1s, the internet can sometimes be a scary place. If yoυ’ve been on the internet for yeаrs, you’ve likelу had your information leaked or a paѕsword stolen. Chalk it up as coming with the territоry.
Even while abiding by the most strict security standards, there’s nothing you can do if a website trusted with your information suffers a data breach.
In such breaches, and everywhere else across the internet, we come attached to an identifier called an IP address. While your IP address isn’t as sacred as a fingerprint, it’s still a piece of your digital information worth guarding and understanding.
So, what happens if someone gets their hands on your IP address? Can bad things happen? In this article, we’ll explore a couple of topics: What is an IP address is and what’s at stake in the event that yours is leaked.
What Is An IP Address?
While there are plenty of sites out there that can break down IP addresses in a technical way, the majority of people online aren’t deeply experienced and require a layman’s explanation.
Simply put, an IP address is a string of numbers, separated by periods as four octets, that you are assigned every time you connect to the internet. IP addresses are allocated in a number of ways, but the most noteworthy is that it will relate directly to your physical location and internet service provider (ISP). An internet service provider is the company that gives you your internet, such as Comcast or AT&T.
An example of an IP address is 69.89.31.226. This address was assigned to a device at the moment it established a connection to the internet, and although it is not permanent, it will remain assigned to the device based on certain conditions that are often specific to each individual ISP.
For most ISPs, simply disconnecting your router and reconnecting it after a few minutes will renew your IP address. For others, you may be asked to call to perform an IP release and renewal. There are billions of IP addresses floating around in the IPv4 space, which is the four-octet format described earlier—so many, in fact, that we will soon have to convert to IPv6 before all possible IPv4 addresses have been allocated.
How Can I Find My IP Address?
Over at Online Tech Tips, we recently published a lengthy article explaining the many ways for you to find your public IP address.
However, the most simple and stress-free way of doing this is to type in a phrase such as “my IP address” in a Google search. Above the search results, Google will immediately show your current IP address.
What Does My IP Address Reveal?
On the surface, an IP address looks no more identifying than just a phone number. However, just like how the internet allows us to trace a phone number to much more identifying information, your IP address actually tells quite a lot about you—including your location.
Don’t be alarmed, though! The geolocation of an IP address and a device’s GPS location are two very different things. For mobile devices, pinpointing an exact physical location is completely possible. With only an IP address, it’s not.
The best way to see exactly what your IP tells about you is to simply see for yourself. We recommend using an IP address data provider such as IPinfo. IPinfo has a page that you can navigate to and instantly see all of the freely available information about your IP address.
On this page, you’ll see the city, postal code, coordinates, timezone, local time, and even a map related to your IP address. However, you’ll notice that none of this information is exact. This information may point to an area nearby, but nowhere near as accurate as GPS location data. This is intended.
This geolocation information actually relates to your ISP, which you’ll see information about on this same page: hostname, ASN, organization (typically the ISP name), connection speed, and more. The exact location you see pinpointed on the map should be where your ISP’s nearest servers are located.
How Can I Protect My IP Address?
Your IP address is far from private, and just about every single website or service you interact with online is going to use it in one way or another. While your IP address alone doesn’t give away everything someone would need to show up at your doorstep, it’s still a valuable piece of your privacy that you may want to protect.
Should someone want to locate you, an IP address is something that can help confirm suspicions and search for more precise information. An IP address also puts you at risk of denial-of-service attacks, which can leave your internet connection stressed or completely disconnected for hours on end.
The simplest way to protect your IP address is to stay connected to a VPN. A VPN, or virtual private network, tunnels your internet connection through a proxy server so that your real IP address is only seen by the VPN provider. An IP address assigned by the VPN is what websites and potentially malicious users will see from your device.
While most VPNs aren’t free, you can check out Online Tech Tips’ list of the five best VPN apps for more information on how to protect your IP address by using them.
Have no fear—with no additional context, there’s no pin on a map that drops on your home when someone searches for your IP address. However, your IP address can provide crucial clues related to your general location, and if the wrong person gets their hands on it, a DDoS attack can potentially follow.
