Your Public IPv4 is [show_ip]
* I never tracked or record any of this information. This is purely for educational purposes.
I get it.
It’s just a string of numbers and most probably we won’t think too much or worry about it.
But maybe it’s time we take charge and look into the ignorance about our IP address.
What an IP Can Say About You
Not much I would say in general.
Apart from the geo-targeting that I’ve shown you above, it’s pretty much what’s on the surface.
But what we really need to pay attention to is what’s beneath.
The tracing of an IP that identifies “You” and all your browsing activities and behaviors online will reveal a lot more than you could anticipate.
I had created a simple infographic to show you the actual situation where this can happen to anyone of us.
I care as I’m a parent myself too.
And as a Ninja Geek, we try to stay away from the spotlight.
It doesn’t take more than a few steps to learn more about me or you.
The internet is so connected and highly organized that it might actually bring harm to users too if it falls into the wrong hands.
I am a victim for myself and I’m sure you had experienced or encountered such incidents as well where you receive calls or emails from a complete stranger but they can somehow tell or relate themselves to you.
How coincidence?
Nope, it’s all technology, tracking, and presumption.
How Can We Protect Ourselves
There are many ways and methods but from the infographic or situation that I’ve created above, the simplest way is to mask your IP using a VPN service.
Point all the data set to a non-existing party.
We would still need to find information about kindergartens and buy story books for the kids.
It’s all for the good.
But all this info will be useless if they are all pointing in the wrong direction for whom that harvest and hope to gain from it.
Protect ourselves from being exploited, and get to learn some basics about the digital footprint, and why it matters.
In the age of big data, privacy is the most precious resource.
Learn more about IPv4 vs IPv6.