How To Find Your IP Address

April 14, 2008

Internet Protocol address, or commonly known as IP address, is an address that is uniquely given to a component of a network such as routers, switches, computers, servers, printers, and even some telephones. This is assigned to each component so they can be identified and will have no problems in remotely communicating with each other. IP addresses can be static or dynamic. Static IP addresses are addresses that do not change, while dynamic IP address change every time you connect to the network.

Knowing your IP address is important especially if you want to communicate and interact with another component of the network. To find your IP address in Windows XP, the first thing you have to do is to open the Command Prompt. You can find “Command Prompt” in Accessories. You are taken to a black screen and here you must type ipconfig. After a few moments, you will be given your IP address and other information.

IP addresses are commonly expressed in this way xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx and can contain numbers from 0 to 254. If you are in a local network, doing the above steps will give you your local IP address and not the one you use when you connect to the Internet. Usually, local IP address starts with “192.168”.

You can also find your IP address by visiting websites that will do just this. You have to be careful in giving out IP addresses though since these are the more common ways that a hacker can get into your computer. And never download softwares that will claim to show you your IP address.

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