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How to hide your IP Address?
How to hide your IP Address?
Hiding your IP address allows you to access blocked web sites, stay anonymous online, work around the IP bans, access dark web, and protect your identity. There are several ways to hide your IP address, and each have advantages and disadvantages. If you have a question about hiding your IP Address, please use our forum.
1. Hide your IP address with a VPN (best option)
Virtual Private Network (VPN) offers a connectivity to another network, and when connected your computer receives a new IP address from a VPN provider. Every traffic from your computer routes through the VPN network, so your true IP address assigned by your ISP is hidden.
Here are a few VPN providers we recommend:
- Hide My Ass (30 Day Money Back Guarantee)
- Vypr VPN (Free Trial or 30 Day Money Back Guarantee)
- Express VPN (30 Day Money Back Guarantee)
- Pure VPN (7 Day Money Back Guarantee)
For full comparison and company reviews, please visit VPN Comparison page. You may also refer VPN Buyer's Guide.
Pros:
- Best and most convenient way to hide IP address. You may choose to obtain an IP address from any country or city (provided that your VPN provider has a server in the region).
- Work around Internet Censorship and unblock websites.
- All inbound and outbound traffic are encrypted so the data exchange is secure.
- Allow access to dark web.
- Allows you to use in multiple devices (e.g. PC, Tablet and Smartphone).
Cons:
- Data encryption may cause slowdown in network traffic.
- A reliable VPN service requires subscription which may cost $3/mo to $12/mo.
2. Mask your IP address with Proxies
There are thousands of free web proxy servers that you can use to hide your IP address and surf anonymously. Browsing through a proxy means that you are not accessing a website directly, but going through a intermediate "proxy" which relays the information back and forth between you and the destination website.
Pros:
- Hide your IP address by using a public proxy server.
- Using proxy server bypasses blocked websites.
Cons:
- Most proxy servers are web-based, so anonymity is limited to web traffic.
- As the traffic is going through a proxy server (not a network), the data can be leaked.
- Most free proxy servers promote advertisement on framed browser, so it's not very user friendly.
- Most proxy servers are logged, so your online activity can be traced.
3. Use the Tor Browser
Tor is a free software program that uses a distributed network of relays to communicate anonymously. Tor Browser is a free browser similar to IE, Chrome and Firefox that lets you use Tor network to browse anonymously without revealing your own IP Address. You will have to download and install a version of Tor browser that is compatible with your operating system (i.e. Windows, Mac OS and Linux).
Since Tor uses a network of distributed relays, the performance of Tor Browser is much slower than the native browsers that connects directly to the Internet.
Pros:
- Tor is an open-source software so there is reduced risk of vulnerability.
- Circumvent Internet censorship and unblocks blocked websites.
- Allows access to .onion dark web sites.
Cons:
- Tor browser is limited to web traffic.
- As the traffic is going through the onion network, performance degrade may occur.
- Higher authority can monitor your online activity.
- Your traffic is not encrypted so the traffic can be monitored.
4. Use a public Wifi network (someone else's network)
Alternatively, you may use free Wi-Fi services offered by a coffee shop, hotel or any public locations. An IP address does not travel with your computer, but they are rather assigned by the router colocated in the area you are in. To find your public IP address, try What is My IP.
Pros and Cons:
Using someone else's network does not hide your IP address. You're borrowing an IP address from your neighbor or a coffee shop. All your traffic can be traced, and vulnerable to hackers. Please read why you should avoid connecting to unsecured wifi hotspot.
How do you obtain an IP address?
When you connect to the Internet, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns you an IP address. When you surf the web, view emails or download a movie from the Internet, your activity can be tracked with your IP address. An IP address can be used to locate a person (although not precisely without a warrant), and trace the Internet activity. To surf anonymously and protect your privacy, you'll need to hide your real IP address.
Why would you hide your IP address?
You may have your very own reasons for hiding your IP address, but here are a few popular reasons why people would want to hide their public IP address.
- Hide your identity from your competitors - You may be commenting on your or competitor's products on various forums, and using your IP address will reveal your identity.
- Hide your geographical location - Certain networks prevent users from a specific geographical location, and use of proxy IP address will circumbent this problem.
- Prevent Website Tracking - Every website or webpage you visited is tracked by the server hosted by the website owner. By hiding your IP address, your web visits cannot be tracked.
- Work around Internet Censorship - Some countries like China implements strict Internet Censorship for a variety of laws and regulations. By hiding your IP address and obtaining a new IP address from a different geolocation, you may bypass Internet Censorship and unblock websitessuch as Google, YouTube and Facebook which otherwise blocked.
Protect your identity
If you navigate on the Internet with your IP address, your privacy and sensitive information about you can be monitored. With an IP address, your location, your ISP and your privacy or security can be breached. There are full of suspicious people on the Internet, and you need to protect your identity by hiding your IP address and use someone else's instead. There are many tools available to mask your IP address (free and paid), and use 3rd-party IP addresses offered by public companies.
If you have any questions about hiding IP address, please post your question on Hide and Change IP Address Forum.
Disclaimer: We receive compensation when a purchase is made from the referred link on this webpage. Our recommendation is based on our research and positive feedback we received from the users who've used the services.
