While IP stands for Internet Protocol, IP Lookup is a tool used on the browser to discover the various IP Locations of users and to retrieve the contact data of anyone whose information is being queried.
For you to get information as regards the IP of any domain, all you need to do is visit an IP Lookup site and type the domain name in their search engine and it will procure the data of such domain for you without wasting your time.
The information the IP lookup site will provide is gotten from a registry referred to as Regional Internet Registry. In case, the IP of the domain has been blocked, there are alternative ways of retrieving this information. And that brings to mind the concept of IP Address.
What IP Address Is All About?
IP Address refers to the unique means of identification of any domain or website. It gives computers the chance to trade information between different computers within the sphere of a particular network.
In that regards, it is worthy of note that any host or router found on the internet has its own IP Address. The principle of IP Address is that no two machines can own the same IP address. This is because the combinations are always unique.
In recent times, there are only two means to identify a standard IP Addresses and they are IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4) and IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6). The IPv4 was the first of its kind. It was used to refer to IP Addresses that are a 32-bit number. Despite being the first and that the internet keeps evolving, it is still used by some people; yet, it is very scarce.
The second one IPv6 was created in 1995 but was standardized in 1998. It is the most common type today.
The Essence of Having A Unique IP Address
When you have a unique IP Address, you open yourself to a wide range of advantages. Some of such are:
- Reliability: When you have your own unique IP Address, you give yourself the opportunity to own a reliable website no matter the number of servers on the same server. This makes it easy for you to remain unaffected by the problem faced by other websites when something happens to them. In other words, if a website is suddenly blacklisted or blocked, since your own IP Address is different, it will not be affected.
- Freedom from Mistakes and Cluster: This is like having a unique mailbox. If everyone does not have a different IP address, information meant for one person will be sent to another person. When two systems operate with the same IP, they are in a ‘conflict’ and are in a problematic situation because other hosts would find it hard to know the correct hardware address and might make the mistake of sending the data meant to one system to the other.
- A Means of Communicating with Other Computer: Your IP address is like your means of identification on the internet. Without it, your computer will be deprived of the chance of sending and receiving data. It is like a postal address.
What is IP Location?
IP location refers to the present location of a computer or an IP address. It is a mapped out location of the internet from the device you use in connecting to the internet. Upon their search for a location, the users get information such as the country, state, city, zip code, latitude/longitude, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), area code and other simple information. To understand IP location, there is a need to delve more into the knowledge of Geo IP location.
What is Geo IP Location?
Geo IP location refers to the various methods of identifying or pinpoint the geographical location of a person or computer by using their terminal’s IP address. At this point, it should be noted that it can only use the information it gets from a Geo IP database and does not just pinpoint the location.
How Does Geo IP Work?
The internet is laden with various service providers that give the opportunity to locate the Geo IP of any device you are trying to find. They have worked on gathering the information as regards different IP address that they easily help in locating whoever you will like to locate.
Although there are free ones, they are not always as accurate as the paid versions. In a bid to get a Geolocation of anything or anyone, you can pay Geolocation services.
- These paid services have a means of zeroing in on the ZIP code level. They have access to various databases from different website s and this provides all the information they need to locate anyone online.
One major source of getting this information is the Regional Internet Registries. In fact, it is the primary source. The RIR are companies that have taken up the job of managing and managing the distribution of IP Addresses located in that region.
- When they have gotten the ZIP code, they go further to use various methods to find the location of the person. They can use the information from simple things such as your query about the weather. This happens because, upon request for the weather in your area, the weather report system automatically logs your current location because you made the request in real time, making you get an instant and accurate information as regards your location.
- Then, they can use the information of your Internet Service Providers(ISPs). These ISPs are also contributors to the information as regards people’s data. The Geo IP locators are equipped with statistical as well as various sophisticated analytical tools that can be used to analyse the information provided. With this, they can easily fine-tune their search.
Importance of Geo IP Locator or Lookup
Since they are used to pinpoint people’s location, you might wonder how safe it is. However, it
is one of the aspects that has brought a lot of change to various means of doing things.
- To Prevent Financial Problems: This system is used by various industry organisations such as the banks, telecommunication companies, travel agencies, hospital as well as Law enforcement agencies. They use it to prevent such things ‘phishing’ attacks, money laundering as well as other financial securities breach through using people’s IP address as a means of verifying how authentic they are.
- To Monitor Online Crimes: Many agencies have employed it in rooting out terrorist organisations. They use it in monitoring the various online trafficking that can happen and to even watch out for people that are trading with banned organisations and nations.
- To Prevent Illicit Transfers: Many banks have been able to use these locators to prevent and stop bank transfers made for illicit purposes. More so, organisation have used the locators to detect online fraud.
All they have to do is to compare the billing address of a buyer and his present location whenever a transaction is being made. Then, they will compare the address to the IP Address of the receiving address. Now, if the Geo IP location service pinpoints the online shopper’s location to India, while the billing address is New Town, Australia, then the transaction will receive a red flag.
- A Means of Discovering Cheats and Frauds: Individuals can also use it to detect people’s bad intention towards them as regards their money. In most instances, all that will be required of you will be to copy the IP address and post in a free Geo IP location service, it will help you discover the IP address as well as the geographical location of the cousin who says he is in California and in need of your help.
What is MyIP Address?
This is your public IP address. It is the place you receive the information you want from anywhere. It is like your unique identifier and locator that makes it easy for you to receive the data you might have asked for.
How to Use IP Address Lookup?
This is simply a means of discovering the exact location of an IP Address. With it, you can have an idea of the location of the person you are dealing with. However, it will not reveal intricate information for you use. Its only purpose is to give you a general idea of the person you are searching out his or her information.
When you use the lookup websites, you will get the opportunity to discover:
- The ISP as well as the organisation’s name
- The hostname of the IP
- The current location of the IP
- The region or state
- The city
- The longitude and longitude of the location
- The area code for the region
- Popular service provider using that IP address.
It is important to note that you will be given some private information such as their name or exact street address or even their contact information. All these are kept from you because you also will not like them to provide this information about you to just anyone that try to find your information.