In this modern times, the internet has become a basic need, however, there are many dangers surrounding it. Since we cannot avoid being connected, it is wise to sort solutions to secure our connections. One of the best ways to stay safe while you conduct your business online is to hide your IP address.
An Internet Protocol (IP) Address is a number that is given to your computer (or any other web enabled device) by your Internet Provider to serve as an identity. However, there are many reasons for hiding this particular address. This is how you can know your IP address.
They include;
- Hiding your identity so as not to leave a digital trace online and overall maintain your right to privacy.
- Get access to websites that have been filtered by your country, work or school network such as social networks like Facebook, video streaming services like Netflix or YouTube
- To protect your online surfing from spies such as the Government agencies, Internet Providers or other malicious parties.
- To stop advertising networks from tracking you and spamming your web experience with adverts.
Now that we have established that hiding identity comes with a lot of benefits, you might be wondering where to find a guide to blocking your IP address. Well there are several ways of doing it; they include using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), using a proxy server, using public WIFI, and finally surfing via Tor Browser. The best one of them is using VPN.
VPN, as the name suggests is a virtual network that you are given access to by a VPN provider. This option lets you choose which country you want to appear to surf from. It is wise to choose a country which does not have any website filtering restrictions such as the United States. Prices of the VPN services usually differ from one company to the next but, in most cases, you pay extra for faster connection speeds, however, the fees are generally affordable. In comparison, VPN is much faster than the other methods of hiding your IP such as using a proxy server or Tor browser. In addition, there are many companies offering it, so the pricing competition between them benefits the user in terms of pocket friendliness. Finally, unlike public WIFI that is restricted to a certain range from the hotspot, VPN does not have such barriers.
