How to Find a Location Using an IP Address

IP is an acronym standing for Internet Protocol. An IP address can be compared to any other kind of address, such as a street address. It is a unique identification number corresponding to where you are accessing the Internet. IP addresses are necessary to receive any kind of information on the Internet. Known IP addresses can be traced back to a specific position in the world.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Access to the Internet

1. Discover and record the IP address in question. Make sure that the format of the address is xx.xxx.x.xxx.

2. Navigate to http://whatismyipaddress.com to trace the IP address.

3. Scroll down to the green button with "Trace Now" in its center. Enter the IP address into the space provided adjacent to the button. Click the button.

4. Look over the information on the next page about the IP address you entered. The country, state and city of the IP address should be listed, as well as latitude and longitude. Scroll further down to access the interactive map to view a detailed map of the source of the IP address.

5. Look under the General Information section and see whether the site detects a proxy in the IP address. If yes, do not trust the listed information.

Tips & Warnings

• If the IP address you want to track comes from a dial-up connection, the above process will not work.

References

• Link to What Is My IP Address Website

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