The IP address ensures that data arrives where it is supposed to. Every computer that is connected to the Internet is part of a network. Within this network, data is constantly sent and received. The IP address is a kind of individual identification number that enables targeted data exchange. For example, if you open a website, your browser transmits your IP address to the web server of the website. The web server then knows exactly where to send the data. Our IP Checker can show you this public IP address. As the IP address is provided by the server, it is not possible to change an IP address so it contains a specific sequence of numbers. However, restarting the router does cause a new random address to be reissued by the provider.

Beyond this, internal IP addresses are assigned within local networks and are not outwardly visible. This means that each device that dials in to a private wireless network is allocated its own IP address. The router automatically generates an IP address that changes with each browsing session. The Windows ipconfig command allows you to access the address data of a device in a local network. Mac OS users must enter ipconfig in the terminal. The router itself also has an IP address, which can be viewed using the same command. The IP address of the router is often called the standard gateway and consists of a static sequence of numbers, commonly 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. You can set up a fixed IP address in the network settings.

Usually the IP address is generated dynamically with every new browsing session through the internet provider. This means that every new dial-up generates a new IP address or at least once a day. This has the advantage that the assignment of IP addresses is done more efficiently, as all users are never online at the same time, and the dynamic method can also take the unused addresses into consideration. Dynamic IP addresses also contribute to online security, as they make identification and external attacks more difficult.

Along with dynamic IP addresses, static addresses are also used — most commonly if the IP in question belongs to a page, as websites are supposed to be easy to find for the users. This is why the Domain Name System (DNS) was introduced. A domain like www.ionos.com is much easier to remember than a seemingly meaningless number sequence. Every domain in turn leads to a web server with a fixed IP address.

When it comes to IP addresses, we differentiate between IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. An IPv4 address consists of four blocks of numbers separated by dots. In each block, any number between 0 and 225 can be used, which results in roughly 4.3 billion possible addresses. As the internet has grown so rapidly over the last few years, and will continue to grow in the future, this number is quickly becoming insufficient. This is why the IPv6 format is currently being introduced as the new norm, which can generate roughly sextillion new addresses. The structure of IPv6 addresses is less clear, as it uses both numbers and letters in eight separate blocks.

Your IP address is never just a ransom sequence of numbers or letters. Specific IP areas are allocated to certain providers or to big companies. There is no area or country code, like the ones found in telephone numbers when it comes to IP addresses though. Rather the IP address can be found through the so called dial-up node. It also shows which browser and operating system is being used. The internet provider can receive information on the user's online behavior during a web browsing session through the IP address. The regulations on what happens to this data after the browsing session is finished also varies depending on the country.