How To Use A Fake Ip Address And Mask Yourself Online
Sometimes you need to hide your IP address. Here are some ways to mask your IP address and make yourself anonymous online.
As the notion of privacy gets trampled on with each passing year, online privacy only becomes even more important.
That’s why many people use fake IP addresses. To be clear, “fake IP address” is a bit of a misnomer that implies creating a new one out of thin air. That’s not possible. The best you can do is hide your IP address behind someone else’s already-existing IP address. This is called IP masking. So how do you spoof your IP address?
The Resource Issue For Police Forces
Police agencies around the world do not really have the time to pursue all criminal activity that every person is allegedly doing online. They have their hands full with actual fraud, where cybercriminals commit million dollar crimes on large companies. They dont really care about any activity less than $100,000, and your torrenting, downloading, and Netflix streaming are all completely safe. You have literally nothing to worry about unless you are committing major criminal operations.
Another very pertinent point is that its not like all jurisdictions cooperate with each other. A typical online myth is that a police company will simply contact the VPN company and they will just hand over all the details. But this is flawed thinking.
A VPN provider in Indonesia will just not care if it receives a request from US or British police asking for information about a user. Why would it? With the layers and levels of bureaucracy in the modern age, it could take years for the information to trade hands.
So unless it is a multi-million dollar case where the police agency has already gotten a court order, no information is going to be handed over, and it would not even be worth pursuing.
Why Hide My Ip Address
Handing out your real IP address to every website you visit can threaten your privacy and anonymity online.
This is because your IP address can easily be used to figure out your location sometimes with a scary level of accuracy. Hiding your IP address keeps this from happening. Its especially important if youre going to torrent or do any other activity that falls in a legal gray area.
But even if youre just browsing, revealing your location has consequences. Websites and third-party advertisers can use this data to target you with specific content, in order to profit from your online activity.
For example, airlines and travel companies change their prices based on the location of your IP address. You might be shocked by how much plane ticket prices can vary because of this.
Another reason to hide your IP address is to One common example is Netflix, which uses your IP address to determine the content youre able to watch.
If you dont hide your IP address, youll only be able to see the Netflix library for your actual location. But if you want to get around regional restrictions and access content from all over the world, hiding your IP address will do the trick.
Also Check: Does VPN Slow Down Torrenting
Can An Employer Track Me While I’m On A VPN
This mainly depends on the type of VPN you’re using. Business VPNs have a different function from commercial VPNs. If you’re connected to a business VPN provided by your employer, they would probably be able to monitor you. Most business VPNs log employees’ activities and do not guarantee anonymity from your employer.
But let’s say you use a commercial VPN. If your workplace monitors employees’ online behavior, VPN detection is possible. However, they would need to have monitoring software installed on your work device to see what you do online. For example, if your company has installed keyloggers directly onto your computer, a VPN service won’t be able to hide what you type on your device from your employer.
What Other Leaks Can Expose Your Ip Address And How Can You Fix Them
There is another common leak named Dropped Connection which occurs if your VPN disconnects suddenly, in which case all your web traffic will be routed through your regular Internet connection . This is the common IP leak and also the easiest to prevent.
Choosing a VPN service with a kill-switch feature is the right choice even for your smartphones. A kill-switch is a critical piece of your VPN client software that continuously monitors your network connection and makes sure that your true IP address is never exposed online in the event of a dropped VPN connection. If it detects a change, it will instantly stop all internet connectivity and try to reconnect to the VPN automatically. I recommend looking for this feature when you are comparing VPNs.
VPNs can be a great tool for protecting your privacy online, but sometimes they can be undermined. I hope this post has opened your eyes to risks of IP leaks and the importance of regularly checking for them to ensure your information is staying safe.
Looking for more on VPNs? Check out my recent postTop 10 VPNs That Take Your Privacy and Security Seriously.
Note: This blog article was written by a guest contributor for the purpose of offering a wider variety of content for our readers. The opinions expressed in this guest author article are solely those of the contributor and do not necessarily reflect those of GlobalSign
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How To Check If Your VPN Is Leaking Your Ip Address On Your Computer Or Smartphone
VPNs are great for security, but one of the big reasons many people use one is to mask or change their IP address. Thus, one of the essential motivations to utilize a VPN is to conceal your actual IP address. In addition, while using a VPN, all of your web movements are encoded and sent to a VPN server. These servers, which handle all the data on the server side and is run by your VPN provider, are encrypted.
This implies that outside eyewitnesses can only see the IP address of the VPN server and not your actual IP. VPN providers take strong measures to protect user IPs, including using shared IPs and not maintaining logs. However, there is still a chance that your IP address can be discovered while using a VPN. Read on to learn how to find out if your VPN is leaking your IP and what you can do about it.
What Is An Ip Address Anyway
An IP address is a series of numbers that identifies your device or network on the internet. Activity on the internet is a series of two-way communications between clients software, such as a web browser, that requests data and servers, which reply to clients with responses. Every client has an IP address that tells servers who is making the request.
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So, its easy to understand what an IP address is and also why theyre important. IP addresses let search engines like Google know where to send the results of a search, help websites know whos visiting their site, and make sure you receive the emails that are addressed to you.
In other words, IP addresses undergird how the internet works in general. Thankfully, its very easy to find your IP address if you need this information.
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Is It Legal To Access Someones Ip Address Behind A VPN
Whether it is legal or illegal to uncover someones IP address while it is protected by a VPN is unclear. Speculatively, accessing a users IP address behind a VPN, apart from the methods listed above, can be considered a breach of privacy, and therefore, illegal. The individual is intentionally using measures to protect themselves and their identity, and you are committing the decisive act of violating those efforts.
Most, if not all, VPN providers keep a log of your activity when using a VPN even when they claim not to. They must do this since this is information that must be turned over if requested from law enforcement . This method, of course, is legal.
Be familiar with laws such as the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act , which prohibits anyone from knowingly accesses a computer without authorization and obtaining the data listed below:
- Information stored in financial records
- Information concerning governmental agencies
- Information from a protected computer
Information obtained by violating or exceeding authorization, especially from a protected computer and/or to defraud a user, was obtained illegally especially if the procurement of that data was used to cause damages or resulted in any kind of loss.
If you feel that it is necessary to access identifying information of an individual sharing your network, or if you suspect that your privacy has been breached, please retrieve the necessary information within the limits of the law.
How To Get A Taiwanese Ip Address
There are two ways to get a Taiwanese IP address: a proxy or a VPN. You can change your IP address with a proxy, but we dont recommend doing so because proxies lack encryption and basic security features. Theyre also unreliable, fail to offer online privacy and most have limited bandwidth and speed caps.
A VPN is the best and safest route as itll secure your connection and hide your real IP address to protect your privacy from the prying eyes of surveillance agencies and snoopers. VPNs also get around geoblocks and unblock streaming websites , so you can access the content you want.
Our VPN vs. proxy vs. Tor article explains the core differences between proxies and VPNs.
Not all VPN services are created equal, though, which is why we selected three of our best VPN providers to help you get an IP address from Taiwan.
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Ways For The Website To Expose You Without The Help Of The VPN Server
If you agree to run native code or .NET/Java code with full trust, such as:
- An ActiveX applet
- A Java applet
- A .NET XBAP
- Flash, maybe?
- Silverlight, maybe?
- Any other browser plugins that allow arbitrary native code or robust runtime environments
The above listed environments allow the program to query details about the native operating environment, which includes a list of all the network cards / interfaces. One of those interfaces would be your local ethernet or wireless interface, which would contain your Private NAT IP, but may or may not contain your Public IP.
Finding Real Ip Address Of Website Powered By Cloudflare
Here I will share with you what I have used and tried that helped in getting real IP address/Info of websites hiding behind Cloudflare.
Cloudflare is one of the fastest-growing CDN provider powering more than 16 Million websites. having both free and premium service to speed up, optimize & secure websites.
Using Cloudflare makes your website get masked with Cloudflare proxy, so visitors wont be hitting your naked website.
But, if you are doing recon as a security researcher on any target website and you discovered the site hides behind Cloudflare WAF.
Uncovering the site main IP address and accessing it can really help in testing.
Lets dive right in.
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How To Use A VPN To Change My Ip Address
To change your IP address, you simply open your VPN app, select the server location youd like to connect to, and youre done. Youre now browsing with a new IP address. If youd like to make sure your IP has changed, open up a browser and search for Whats my IP address and click on one of the results.
What About Federal Agencies
Its true that the NSA and other forces spend billions of dollars on pointless spying operations upon US and international citizens. And they do have sophisticated means of doing so. If Federal agencies want to track an individual user, they will.
However, they are dealing with economies of scale here. With millions of active VPN users all using different IP addresses on multiple devices, it becomes a lot more confusing for government forces to track and monitor the populace, even with all of their technology. Consider the sheer amount of data generated on a daily basis by hundreds of millions of internet users and content creators. Federal agencies have to be selective with their spying.
And VPN technologies are evolving all the time. So a VPN is perfect as a means of general obfuscation for global citizens. However, true cybercriminals will need to resort to Edward Snowden like measures to stay private when the eye of the surveillance state turns upon them.
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How To Find The True Location Of Your VPN Servers
05 January 2019
Are your VPN’s locations really where the provider claims? Maybe not here’s how to check
Sign up for any virtual private network and you’ll be promised access to a network of servers spread all around the world. Most providers will try to sell themselves on the size of that network, too for example, Private Internet Access offers locations in 33 countries, IPVanish claims 60, and HideMyAss boasts more than 190.
There can be real benefits to these larger networks. The more locations available, the greater the chance that you’ll be able to unblock websites in those countries. You’ll be more likely to find a server near you, perhaps improving performance. And even if your nearest server is overloaded, there are likely to be other alternatives nearby.
At least, that’s the theory.
The reality is that the locations a VPN provider shows you on its server list or map might not always be what you get in real-world use. And that’s not some trivial, academic point it can make a huge difference to the service.
Let’s explore this idea further
Your Ip Address Is A Potential Problem You May Want To Hide It
Your IP address is a behind-the-scenes number your Internet provider assigns your computer that allows you to go anywhere on the Internet. Its something like the house number on your home.
Thats the good news. The somewhat bad news is that your IP address also gives away your computing location, at home or on the road. That bothers a lot of computer users.
Why?
Because governments have tracked people down by their IP address, with the help of the persons Internet Service Provider.
Also, online businesses of all kinds monitor activity coming from IP addresses. They may not know your name, but they know you like their website.
Online companies and networks can restrict someones access to a website based on where the user is located. Guess how they know where the user is? Rightthe users IP address.
Finally, hackers can break into networks and sometimes take over devices through its IP address.
As hard as IT experts, Internet providers and technology companies try, the Internet is not as safe or private as you wish it should be.
As you can see, we dont have nearly enough privacy, or security, as wed like.
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Cookie Cutting And More
Replacing your IP address won’t always be enough to persuade a website that you’re in another location, particularly if you have an account at the site or have visited it before.
A website might use an IP and location from your initial visit, for instance. If you’ve logged in via a social media account, it may be able to obtain location-related profile details. It could use cookies to maintain location across sessions.
These tactics aren’t used by everyone, but it’s still a good idea to check whether these website state issues might be related to your VPN problems.
Start by logging out from a website account at the end of a normal session, then connect to your VPN and log in as normal.
Try removing any browser state information delete your cookies, browser history and so on before you log in.
Alternatively, launch an anonymous browsing session which won’t have any previous website state information .
Finding Your Real VPN Locations
You may not always be able to trust what a VPN provider says about its locations, then, but fortunately, there are several ways to figure them out for yourself.
The internet is crammed with websites that will inform you of your current IP address, its location and more, for instance, and WhatIsMyIP.com is a good example. Connect to a VPN location, visit the site and it’ll list your IPv4, IPv6 and local IPs, your city and country, even your ISP. Although note that geolocation isn’t an exact science. The country is almost always correct, but the website’s suggested city might be 100 miles away, or more, from the real location.
At any rate, the problem with most of these sites is they’ll generally use a single geolocation provider. Other providers may sometimes give you different results, so it pays to check several. IPLocation.net shows your current location according to four geolocation providers, for instance Visit the site while connected to a VPN server and make sure all four give you the country you expect. If they show mixed results, that means you’re likely to see the same inconsistency online. You’ll probably find the VPN works on some websites, but not on others, depending on the geolocation provider they use.
While these sites will show the country assigned to your IP address, they can’t tell you whether the server is really somewhere else. For that, you need to get a little smarter.
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