How To Hack A Computer Using Their Ip Address
What You Can Do With an IP Address, and How to Hide Yours
With someone’s IP address, you can learn a user’s general location, and disable some parts of their internet browsing device connected to the internet has an IP address, which helps websites identify your third-party programs or services, someone with your IP address could possibly block you from reaching certain you’re concerned about the security of your IP address, consider installing a firewall and Business Insider’s Tech Reference library for more stories.
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Every device that connects to the internet has an IP (Internet Protocol) address. The
IP address, which is composed of a series of numbers separated by decimal points, looks something like “198. 169. 0. 100. ” This number is used to help devices talk to each other and exchange data. Your network router has its own IP address, of course, as does every device on your network. But because these identifiers are so important, that means a hacker can potentially use them against you. Here’s what you should know about your IP address, and what it can be used for.
What you can do with an IP addressFirstly: most users won’t have to worry about any of this. It’s unlikely that any hacker would take the time to learn your specific IP address, and manipulate your specific device. There’s no real reward in it for them, so unless they love playing pranks, it would be a waste of fact, every website you visit already knows your IP address — that’s how they know to load on your computer, as opposed to someone else’ said, armed with your IP address, someone has the potential to take certain actions against your network. As such, it’s a good idea to keep your IP private from individuals you don’t could:
Block you from accessing websitesIt’s possible to use your IP address to prevent you from performing certain online activities. The most common example of this is blocking your ability to reach a certain site, or to post messages in forums or the comment section of web sites. In fact, this is the most common way that website administrators ban rulebreakers. It’s often referred to as an “IP Ban. “Your IP address can also be used to block or ban you from playing online games on some gaming services.
Learn your general geographic location Your IP address can reveal your geographic location. In most cases, this won’t be any more specific than your city and state. In rare cases, it could be as specific as your IP address also carries the name of your Internet Service Provider (the company that gives you internet access — think Spectrum, or Xfinity).
Your IP address signals where you are. ; William Antonelli/Business Insider
While there’s not a lot someone can do with this information, it can be combined with details from other sources to piece together data about your identity.
Perform a Denial of Service AttackKnowing your IP address, a malicious user may be able to perform a Denial of Service (DoS) attack, in which your network is flooded with data. It prevents normal traffic from getting through and overloads the network’s ability to function. However, these attacks are usually directed at large companies or websites — it’s rare that anyone would set up a DoS attack on a regular user.
How to protect your IP addressWhile there are some risks, your IP address alone poses very limited danger to you or your network. Your IP address can’t be used to reveal your identity or specific location, nor can it be used to hack into or remotely take control of your computer. That said, if you’re still concerned, a few simple precautions can help protect and foremost, your network should be protected with a firewall. Most routers have firewalls built in, but you should contact your router manufacturer or internet service provider to learn about your additional protection, you can use Virtual Private Network (
VPN) software. A VPN hides your IP address from all outside users, making it extremely difficult for someone to uncover your IP address or monitor your online activity.
NordVPN is one of the most popular VPN services.
NordVPN; William Antonelli/Business Insider
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Dave Johnson
Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he’s also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.
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How a Hacker Might Exploit Your IP Address
A hacker is simply an online vandal, if you think about it. What do vandals do but damage things that don’t belong to them, for no good reason other than to do it. A hacker wants to worm his way into a network of his choosing to do serious (or not-so-serious) damage, such as stealing email addresses or your personal data.
Hacking is mostly focused on causing trouble for big companies and government agencies. But anything is fair game, and that’s why some junior hackers will stoop so low as to hack the IP addresses of our computers, just to mess things up for a bit.
Your network identifier: an IP address.
As you likely know, every computer that is connected to a network or the Internet has its own IP address. Everyone on the Internet has to have an IP address to send emails, look up information or buy online. It’s as simple as this: When you’re connected, you have an actively working IP address. And depending on where you are, your IP address can change.
A lot of Internet chatter that says our IP addresses can reveal our identities is not accurate. As experts have pointed out, if our IP addresses were truly the gateway to all of our personal and private information, then the entire Internet would be one big mess. But fortunately, our IP addresses alone do not make us easy targets.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean hackers will leave IP addresses alone. Remember—hackers simply like to mess things up, so they’ll still see what disruption they might be able to cause.
But just how would the hacker get into your computer anyway?
Ports: like doors to your home.
In the world of TCP/IP, the interface between the networks and your programs occurs through a system of electronic channels called ports. Each of these ports has a unique number that identifies it. So, in a sense, the ports are pipelines in the computer through which data can flow to and from a particular application and the network protocol software.
Each IP address has ports associated with it. Those ports are an important part of your computer system: Several programs (applications) might be running on the same computer, and the built-in network software on your computer needs to have a way of knowing what incoming packet of data is intended for what application. It needs to know, for example, how to send incoming emails to your email program.
That’s how that happens.
A building with rooms.
So we have IP addresses, ports and programs. Think of them as an address on your computer, a doorway into a room, and a room itself. With this picture in mind, look at your port as a back door that allows entry into your house…your computer. Completing the analogy, the room is a single application (program) you’re running.
If you’re connected to the Internet and running a program, a related port (identified by a number) will be open. That’s good for you, but it could allow someone who knows your IP address (an outsider, a hacker) access into your connection, with some ability to engage or affect the program you’re running.
Behind the door.
Fortunately, each room/program is somewhat self-contained and doesn’t have connecting doors to the other “rooms” in your computer. So, even if a hacker gets your IP address, sneaks into your port through the big back door and gets into your program, that’s as far as they can go.
Is there a way to block the door? Yes. That’s where a firewall comes into the picture. It essentially blocks intruder activity from getting through the ports.
Making your IP address invisible.
One way to keep hackers at bay is to hide your true IP address. One way to do this is to set up a personal Virtual Private Network (VPN). With a VPN, your online requests are routed through a vast network of computers, and you use a temporary VPN to communicate online. A hacker would not see your true IP address and wouldn’t be able to connect to your computer.
For more information, see our pages on hiding an IP address and Virtual Private Networks.
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What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address | Hotspot Shield
Can they hack me using my IP? Hacking someone through their public IP address is very difficult. That is because internet service providers and routers have firewalls. However, hackers who obtain your IP address can get ahold of some very valuable information about you, including your city, state, and ZIP code. With this location data, hackers can find out other personal information about can hackers get my IP? Each IP address is associated with ports, which act as doorways. Your IP address is a unique signature for your device, and ports are the doorways which allow applications and other devices to send information to you. If you are connected to the internet and running programs, your device could have ports open that might allow hackers to access your connection and learn your can they do with my PC remotely? If a hacker gains access to your PC remotely, such as through the use of malware or a trojan, they could be able to access all of the files on your computer, along with your internet history. The files you have could be accessed and manipulated and your internet passwords, financial information, and social media could all be at should I do to be safe? To keep yourself safe online, it is recommended that you hide your true IP address. This can be done through setting up a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN provides you with a temporary IP address so that your ISP, government actors, and hackers don’t know who or where you are when you surf the web.
