The internet has its own language. If we take a look at the nomenclature of the internet, we observe that there are specific names and terms used in this particular field of community. However, even if some words become well known, the majority of them remain unfamiliar to the users, and usually, they have no information about what those words refer to. Therefore, it is very important to have knowledge about such technical terms from the internet when it comes to making you and your business safe online.
Let’s take an example of the IP address which is a part of internet experience globally; however, only a few people are aware of what it actually means. And even a shocker is that many people are not aware of the IP address that can reveal so much about them.
Introduction: What An IP Address Is?
An Internet protocol or IP address is a unique internet identifier. Each computer comprises its own IP address, and with the help of this system, computers are able to connect with one another and share information. An IPv4 is a standard form of IP address which has four different, yet unique numbers separated through a decimal.
As each computer is provided with its separated IP address, the unlinked devices do not usually get access to it. Different routers are connected to multiple computers, and these routers connect the computer to the rest of the internet by using their unique IP addresses. You might imagine the router as a bridge which connects you with the rest of the world.
Whenever you visit a webpage or send an email, instead of the unique address of your computer, the IP address which is provided by the Internet service provider (ISP) of your local router is shared. You might check that IP address through different tools like What is my IP tool. Hence, whether a person knows about the address of your network or your computers, all of these numbers are enough to inform about you and the types of sites you usually visit.
What type of personal details are shared with an IP address?
Geolocation is the actual location of a device that is shared through an IP address. Many users might not know that their location is being shared which can be quite uncomfortable when they come to know about it. However, it usually requires the user’s permission, and the good thing is that as you are attached to a particular network and the IP address of the system is shared, your specific location is not provided.
For example, if you send an email from your office and a person might be able to know regarding the specific city from which you sent it from, however, it is almost impossible that they get to know about any type of precise detail about you.
Rather than your personal information, they will be able to receive information about your internet service provider. Furthermore, it might provide geolocation information regarding the general areas of the router you are using, and it will never give the street address you are living in.
However, you must keep several things in your mind. A single IP address does not share a lot of information about you than an overall location of the place where you might be at a particular period.
The problem that you might face is that online hackers might be able to see the online activity related to a specific IP address in some cases. They have the power even to reveal a considerable amount of information regarding many people or sometimes a particular person who is using the internet from that specific address.
The privacy commissioner’s office of Canada tried to see what kind of details it can get by operating the IP address of its own network. The researchers utilized a particular search engine to get to know information about the users who had used the internet through that specific network.
The sites and services the users which used the IP address of Privacy Commissioner’s office visited: a. Internet picture sharing b. A particular religious group c. Fitness d. Legal advice about personal injury litigation and insurance law e. The re-reading of Wikipedia entry history
The office of privacy commissioner performed another experiment in which they had a look on the IP address of the user who altered the entry of Wikipedia (these are publicly abled IP address), then they inserted that particular IP address into the search engine. They in return got information such as every entry that the user ever has altered and showed its search result history.
The result from the research indicated that using these kinds of techniques it is not difficult to get to know about details of a people and their online activity through the IP address.
In short, the internet company provider can get to know about the people who are using their internet from their database. They can also find out a vast amount of personal information regarding the activities of their users.
For more information, please visit this site: https://smallseotools.com/what-is-my-ip/
