How to Search for Someone's IP Address

Finding someone's IP address can help you pinpoint their general location, which may be necessary if you wish to report Internet abuse to authorities. It can also be a helpful tracking mechanism if you're running a website and trying to manage your Internet traffic. Using someone's IP address to gain personal information about a user is illegal in some states, however, so follow all local, state and federal guidelines and do not misuse tools that allow you to search IP addresses.

Instructions

1. Set up a free IP tracking service on your website, such as Google Analytics or Sitemeter. Copying and pasting the provided HTML code into your web page will keep track of daily visits, providing you with the IP address and general location of every visitor that clicks on your website.

2. Locate the IP address of an email sender by using Gmail. Open the email and click on the drop-down box next to "Reply." This will open up several options. Choose "Show Original." Highlight and copy the IP address provided in the "Received" section. Paste the copied IP address into an online IP search engine (see links in Resources section below).

3. Find the find the IP address of an email sender using Yahoo! Mail by choosing the option "Full Header." The IP address will appear beside the "Received From" line. Copy and paste the IP information into an IP search engine.

4. Find the IP address of an email sender in Microsoft Outlook by opening the email and choosing "Options" from the top of the screen. This will expand the "Received From" line, from which you can copy and paste the sender's IP address to an IP search engine.

5. Open a direct connection while chatting with someone on MSN, G-chat, AIM, Yahoo! Messenger or Skype. Click on your "Start" menu in Windows and type "cmd" into the "Run" box. Press "Enter." When the command screen appears, type "netstat," and the IP address of the person you're chatting with will appear. You can copy and paste it into an IP search engine to find the chatter's location.

Tips & Warnings

• Opening a direct connection with someone you don't know can put you and your computer at risk.

References

• Online Tech Tips: How to track the original location of an email sender via the IP address
• YouTube: How to Find the IP Address of An Email
• Messenger Town: How to Find Someone Else's IP Through Yahoo! Messenger

Resources

• IP Address Location
• Whois