IP

When you talk about the Internet and web hosting, IP Address is a term that gets unlimited mention. And then you hear about two specific types commonly involved in hosting, Shared and Static IP Address. While it doesn’t necessarily take an expert to figure out the difference between the two, a basic understanding of how the Internet works goes a long way in explaining things.

All computers participating in any form of Internet activity are uniquely identified by a set of numbers they are assigned. Each time you type in a domain name on your browser’s address bar, you are requesting information from a domain as a set of numbers. In the same way, that domain will return your requested information by using its own set of identifying numbers as well. In other words, when you talk of Internet communication, everything happens between these sets of numbers with which a source computer and a destination computer are uniquely identified with. This unique set of numbers assigned to each computer is called an IP address.

This basic information about IP addresses will now make it possible to differentiate between Shared IP and Static IP. A Shared IP is one that is used by more than one site on the Internet while a Static IP address is one that is used by a single site. If you type in a Static IP on your browser’s address bar, you will be directed to the site which owns that Static IP, but if you enter a Shared IP, you’ll get to a server but not to the domain you want because this server wouldn’t know which particular site you’re trying to connect to.

The question is, why would you secure a Static IP and why would you be fine with a Shared IP? Basically, there is only one reason why a Static IP would be necessary – to secure sensitive information. With a Static IP, this information enters and leaves your site in coded form to avoid interception. Obviously, this is the IP address that makes e-commerce possible as well communication between government agencies and other institutions that handle confidential data.

The unfortunate truth is, whether you’re using Shared or Static, hackers could still wreak havoc on your system just by detecting your IP address. The Internet itself was created to detect IP addresses because this is how communication within the network is possible. However, the technology will not limit your ability to protect yourself when surfing. And your best weapon against hackers is to hide your IP address. Hiding your IP will make it impossible for anyone to even know you’re even there. And when they don’t know you’re there, you can go from one website to another without leaving a trail that could be traced back to you.

To hide your IP could be as simple as getting a working IP changer software to make sure that you’re all protected when you just can’t leave a thing to chance.