What is my IP address?
Find out what IP address' are, and also what your current IP address is.
To view your IP address right now click here to visit https://cmyip.com.
An IP address is a unique number for your network connection, a bit like a mobile number. We use your IP address to connect you to our services. When you tell us your IP, we know who you are when you access our systems.
An IP address allows one other device to communicate with another via the Internet. IP addresses allow the location of literally billions of digital devices that are connected to the Internet to be pinpointed and differentiated from other devices. In the same sense that someone needs your mailing address to send you a letter, a remote computer needs your IP address to communicate with your computer. Every internet enabled device has an external IP address.
"IP" stands for Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol address).
An IP address consists of four numbers, each of which contains one to three digits, with a single dot (.) separating each number or set of digits. Each of the four numbers can range from 0 to 255. Here's an example of what an IP address might look like: 78.125.0.209.
IP addresses can be either static or dynamic. Static IP addresses never change. They serve as a permanent Internet address and provide a simple and reliable way for remote computers to contact you. Static IP addresses reveal such information as the continent, country, region, and city in which a computer is located; the ISP (Internet Service Provider) that services that particular computer; and such technical information as the precise latitude and longitude of the country, as well as the locale, of the computer.
Dynamic IP addresses are temporary and are assigned each time a computer accesses the Internet. They can last for an hour. a day or a year etc, but they are not static.
Static IP addresses are generally preferable for such uses as web servers, VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), online gaming, or any other purpose where users need to make it easy for other computers to locate and connect to them. Static IP's don't change, this often entails an extra charge, so check with your ISP.
We would not recommend getting a static IP for your home computing uses - a dynamic IP is fine.