Is it possible to change your IP address?

[ElliotSmith]

For additional privacy and anonymity online, Is it possible to manually change your IP address or set it so that it keeps changing every hour or so?

How do you do this?

I am hardlined into a router.

 

[bigfooted]

Your IP address is assigned to you by your internet service provider (ISP). When your provider uses DHCP for address assignment, then your IP address is taken from a pool of addresses by the ISP, so your address might change every time you restart your pc/router/network driver. It is also possible to first connect to a different machine that has a different IP address and then connect to the rest of the internet from there. This can be done for instance with a virtual private network (vpn). There are companies that offer this service.
Changing your ip address every hour or so is not so useful if the new address still points directly to your pc. I don't see how this increases your privacy or anonimity. Working with a vpn might be what you want.

 

[B0b-A]

Startpage proxy [free] is worth a look for anonymous searches and browsing. The website you're looking at via the proxy sees the proxy's IP address , not yours.

Unfortunately Startpage proxy doesn't support forms : so you usually can't log-in to sites via that proxy, e.g. email provider.

 

[Borg]

In a DOS or Unix window, you can type

ipconfig /renew

to force a change. Note that you will have to close and reopen your browser because they tend to cache the previous IP Address. But, as the others have said, using a proxy server will be the most useful with respect to hiding your address.

 

[WallaceCox]

Of course. you can use ip changing plugin or you can buy a VPN software. VPN software has many ip to change anytime.

 

[vociferous]

If you unplug your interface for a certain amount of time (usually 24-72 hours) your ISP will probably assign your modem a new IP.

You can also call up and ask them to do it manually and they may help you out.

Other than dialup though, most DHCP leases are at least 72 hours and the same IP is usually renewed.

A proxy would be your best alternative.

 

[StevieTNZ]

It depends whether your ISP assigns you a static or dynamic IP address.

 

[rcgldr]

On Windows you can change network card's virtual MAC address by going into configure, advanced, locally administered address, and entering a MAC address. You can use ipconfig /all | more to see the current MAC address. I assume ?nix has something similar. Once the MAC address is changed, power cycle your modem and reboot your system, and usually your IP address will change.

One unwanted side effect of doing this is that sometimes Windows will think the hardware has changed enough to trigger re-activation.

 

[CWatters]

Simply changing your IP address won't improve your privacy or security much and may cause problem with some apps like video conferencing.

 

[enorbet]

For additional privacy and anonymity online, Is it possible to manually change your IP address or set it so that it keeps changing every hour or so? How do you do this? I am hardlined into a router.

Technically your PC doesn't have the IP, your router does. Your router negotiates with your ISP for your Internet address. Your PC, or any others connected to the router, negotiate for your Intranet address. Example - Your router may be assigned a 32 bit address something like 64.123.456.789. Your router employs an address range reserved for internal usage, commonly something like 192.123.456.10. The 192 prefix denotes internal locations.

Routers commonly double as hardware Firewalls, partly in this addressing manner, your first line of defense. Before you are concerned about your IP, you should check to make sure your router has UPnP disabled. This is a huge security risk and Homeland Security has rightly urged all users to make certain this attack avenue is disabled.

As for anonymity, you'd be better served by file system encryption and strong passwords, and you might also wish to consider that common means (like TOR browsing) which maybe for a time created some sense of anonymity but now are the opposite and actually a "red flag", come with their own set of risks.

Bottom line is this. If you want to protect financial records, or your children from your favorite "adult" site, encryption and proper password protocols will suffice. A huge amount of money is being thrown at Cyber Crime and so called Cyber-Terrorism. If you are involved in anything remotely like this, your odds are very bad. Authorities will eventually track you down and take you away. Remember when your teachers said "This is going on your permanent record!" ? It may have been an empty threat then but it is very real on the Web.

Hang on to what privacy you can and rightfully should, but spoofing your IP is not a means to that end.

 

[rcgldr]

Technically your PC doesn't have the IP, your router does.

This depends on your setup. Most cable and dsl based isp providers include an option for each PC (network card) to have it's own external IP. In order for this to work, at startup, the modem assigns external IP addresses to each device connected to the modem, and once assigned, the modem only acts as a bridge, not a router. The devices are typically PC's, each with it's own external IP address, but one or more routers could also be connected to the modem, with each router getting it's own external IP address, and then assigning local IP addresses to any devices connected to the router. Cable modems support 16 (or more?) external IP addresses, but the ISP may limit this (mine which is Cox cable currently limits this to 3). DSL modems provide 8 external IP's, but 3 of those are overhead, so the net result is 5 external IP's (so 5 devices could be connected, each wtih it's own external IP).

When using this bridge setup, what would be a local area network, is just an extension of the internet, and it's not advisable to allow file or device sharing in this case (it could also mean searching the entire internet for a workgroup). On my home setup, I use a 1394 (firewire) connection between two computers to act as a separate and local network.

 

[enorbet]

Oops! Yes I did indeed assume most people today employ a router for added flexibility and security. Since decent ones can be had for ~$50 USD they are a worthwhile investment, but there are certainly still homes that have yet to adopt one or more. However, OP did say he was "hardlined into a router".

 

[ElliotSmith]

Someone on another forum told me that if I unplug my router for a certain number of hours, your IP address changes itself.

 

[StevieTNZ]

Someone on another forum told me that if I unplug my router for a certain number of hours, your IP address changes itself.

Not necessarily so. If your ISP assigns you a static IP, then it won't change if you unplug your router.

 

[Medicol]

Agree! static IPs means placid or stable addresses, which are different from those generated via use of DHCP mode. So address changing occurs only in DHCP. The server/ISP can't set up your dynamic address changeable all the time due to performance and reliability overheads. So it takes some time after being unable to retrieve any signal from the client for the server to renew the address. :)