The internet is not the same platform it was 20 years ago. Back then, there weren’t that many things to be done on the web as there are nowadays. Today, people can browse it for news reading or just for fun; streaming movies, TV series, documentaries, and live sports events; research information for school projects or work, torrent, listen to music and even enjoy multiplayer games.
However, the web is far more insecure and dangerous than what it was before the new millennium. Today, even the most seemingly harmless activities can lead to data loss, identity thefts, compromised files, or also hacked accounts. People can lose money, digital assets, documents, and other critical things.
Protect what you value
Protect what you valueThat is why we, as Internet users, must protect what we can. If you learn how to hide your IP address, you will be tough to track online, as it is the most evident way to know your location. The thing about hackers and other cybercriminals is that they can see where you are just by looking at your IP number.
If you master the craft of how to hide your IP address, you will enjoy other benefits, too. Since most online streaming channels, websites, and networks show their content to the people located in their geographical region, masking your online identity and obtaining one from another country would help you unblock international content that would be restricted under normal circumstances.
So, how do you hide your IP address? The Internet provides users with more than one way to achieve that. Here, we name a few of them:
- A web proxy
It is a server that sits between the customer and the broader network, which is the Internet. It handles all traffic requests made by the user and sends it to the web under a different IP address. It is the easiest way to hide your IP address online.
A proxy, unlike other security tools like a VPN, only encrypts the content handled by the web browser and not everything that the user does or engages when it is connected on the web. It is more straightforward, but it is relatively unsafe and unreliable, at least when compared to other alternatives used to hide your IP address.
- The TOR network
The Onion Router, known as Tor, is a web browser that uses a system of nodes to connect the user to volunteer-operated servers and networks. The described approach will let the user enjoy a different IP address.
TOR is also known as the “dark web” because it has services and pages that regular browsers don’t provide access to. TOR is secure and 100% anonymous, as any external agents have access to the user’s shared content. The problem is that connection speed is extremely slow.
- Smart DNS
Smart DNS providers are online tools that reroute the traffic and details required to determine and show your geographic location. That way, you will be able to enter international sites and bypass blocking measures.
These useful services don’t slow down your connection speed like proxies, TOR, or VPNs, but don’t have the security features of the latter. All in all, a Smart DNS hides your IP address by changing the DNS (Domain Name Service) of your device and rerouting it through a server from the nation that host the specific site you want to access.
- VPN services
VPN stands for Virtual Private Network. While Smart DNS only changes the Domain Name Service of your device and proxies reroute only web browser-related information, VPNs encrypt all the necessary data about your Internet use, including traffic, browsing history, and IP address, and send it to remote servers away from hackers, advertisers, surveillance agencies, and pages that implement geo-blocking measures.
They use protocols such as OpenVPN, SSTP, IKEv2, or L2TP/IPSec to create a virtual tunnel for the aforementioned information to safely pass. By hiding your IP with a VPN, you will gain anonymity, security, privacy, and the ability to unblock international content.
VPNs can slow down your Internet connection slightly, but it will be barely noticeable. They also implement security features to protect your data privacy, such as DNS leak protection, a kill switch, split tunnelling, and other.
As far as VPN brands go, IPBurger is the one you should be looking for. It offers both shared and IP addresses for people looking to hide theirs, and it implements robust encryption and excellent privacy policy.
Plans go from $5 to $9.58 per month. The packages are the fresh, dedicated, shared, and unlimited, and they all let you unblock international sites and streaming libraries and platforms such as Netflix, the BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and others.
How to hide your IP address ā alternative methods
- Contact your ISP provider
- If you operate a dynamic IP, unplug your modem and reconnect after a little while
- Use your data plan to browse the web
- Connect to a public Wi-Fi (unsafe!)
In conclusion, your IP (Internet Protocol) number is like the ID of your device when it is connected to the web. It contains critical information about your connection and location, and that is why you would benefit if you learn how to hide your IP address.
There are several ways to achieve it: connecting to the TOR network, hiring a Smart DNS service, or even a proxy. However, the most reliable method involved getting a VPN provider, like IPBurger.
