The Internet is everywhere. To use it safely and get the most out of it, we simply need to know some concepts about it.
It is of the utmost importance to be acquainted at least with basic concepts of the Internet in theory in order to be able to use it efficiently in practice. One of these concepts is the IP.
WHAT IS IP?
The IP (Internet Protocol) is the protocol or method of communication whereby data is sent and transferred from one computer to another. It is basically one of the fundamental concepts of the Internet as we know it.
In order for you to fully grasp it, we can compare your IP to your house. It is a destination where people know they can find you when they come for a visit. And vice versa, when you go to visit your friends, you go to their place.
All computers connected to the web have at least one IP address, which is a numerical label unique to each device. The IP is mandatory and thus automatically assigned to you by your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
Let’s say you want to send an email to your friend. Think of your IP as of the return address on a letter and your friend’s IP as the recipient address.
It is there to facilitate host or network interface identification and location addressing. In other words, it serves as a starting or ending point of each transaction on the web.
Each IP address reveals the location of the server behind it. So, for example, if your ISP is located in the USA, you will get an IP address that reveals that you are located in the USA at the moment.
Consequently, when you are on a trip, your IP address will change because you will be connected to another server.
WHAT ARE ALL THESE NUMBERS?
You have probably seen your or somebody else’s IP at least once in your life. It looks something like this: 200.1.457.3. If you want to check what your current IP address, go to ipinfo.io.
But what are all these numbers?!
The thing with computers is that they have their own language ‒ binary code. In this language, everything is represented by the numbers 1 and 0.
So, each of these sets of numbers between two dots is a representation of a binary octet. The above IP address would look like this when read by a computer: 11001000.00000001.111001001.00000011.
All IPs are divided into two parts. The first part defines your network and the second part defines the host or computer.
Since there are four sets of numbers, you might think that the first two sets define the network and the second two sets define the host, but it is not necessarily so. Depending on the network, these combinations might be different (2 + 2, 3 + 1 or 1+3)
IP VS PROXY
One thing that people often confuse is the difference between an IP and a proxy.
A proxy is a server that acts as an intermediary between you and the Internet. It contains numerous IPs and masks your real IP, providing a more secure and anonymous connection.
On the other hand, as we explained, an IP is a point of entry to the Internet that each one of us has. You can access the Internet form your own IP or from the one found in a residential proxy, for example.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF IPS
Sounds too complicated already? Hang in there, because now we are going to explain various kinds of IPs.
STATIC VS DYNAMIC IP
Static IP addresses don’t change. They are mostly used when external devices or websites have to remember your IP. One of the examples is when a VPN (virtual private network) or other remote access solution whitelist (approve) your IP for security purposes. The phrase ‘static IP’ also often refers to data-center proxies.
On the other hand, dynamic IPs change over time ‒ for example, when you reset your modem. A large majority of devices actually uses dynamic IPs which are assigned by the network.
RESIDENTIAL IP
Now, this is where things start to become a bit more advanced. A residential IP is an IP located in a regular residential area, so each of us basically has a residential IP at home.
If you cannot access certain websites because you live in a country where these websites are unavailable, search no more. A residential proxy is the best way to solve this problem since it forwards your request from your IP to a server located in another country.
Residential IPs are ideal in case you want to mask your IP for any given reason. If you live in the UK and want to surf as if living in the USA, you can connect to a U.S. residential IP and access the Internet from a completely different location than your physical one.
Thus, when your target website server wants to see who is making the request, it will identify the residential IP as the starting point of the request.
ROTATING IPS
If you want to auto-change IP every minute, you want to use a pool of rotating IPs. In this case, a gateway receives your request and sends it through different IPs which change at certain time intervals.
Thus, not only do rotating IPs mask your IP address but by rotating, they also make it more difficult for your target website server to trace each one of them.
This is particularly useful if you want to automatically manage numerous social media profiles from one computer since these platforms have algorithms that quickly detect if one person (IP) is trying to login to various accounts.
DOES CHANGING YOUR IP ADDRESS MAKE YOU UNTRACEABLE?
In essence, the answer is no.
However, when you connect to a proxy which takes over your request, nobody will be able to tell if there was another IP behind the proxy.
In the case where someone decides to check the identity of a particular proxy, getting the logs of the server itself – you’re no longer anonymous. Since every server saves logs of every action it perform, it’s a good idea to purchase only well known proxy services such as GeoSurf.
That is why high-quality proxies are not easy to find but are essential if you want to hide your IP and surf the entire web without being blocked by a single website.
GEOSURF RESIDENTIAL IPS
Maybe all these concepts are new to you. If you have never heard of them before, this might be too much information. In that case, go over this article several more times and we promise everything will be as clear as day.
However, if you already realize that you need reliable IPs for your business, we have a suggestion. Whether you are an SEO expert, social media manager or a professional scraper, you need resihttps://www.geosurf.comdential IPs to get real internet responses.
GeoSurf boasts 2 million residential IPs in 130 countries across the globe. If you want fast, secure and reliable IPs, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
