How Do Hackers Hide Their IP Address? – Cyber Security …
Cyber-criminals are known to crack most impregnable web servers around the world using sophisticated techniques and still avoid being caught. In fact, cyber-criminals could be operating from any part of the globe while conducting the malicious experiment. One of the main reasons for that is that they hide their IP addresses from prying eyes of the authorities. That is the reason, law enforcement authorities have to collaborate with other countries to arrest top hackers. Hackers are known to use various techniques to hide their digital footprint making it difficult for the authorities to sniff them out. In this article, we will study the various methods in which the hackers hide from prying eyes using various cloaking member, these techniques are also used by common Internet users who love their privacy to remain invisible online. There are quite a few people who prefer the rest of the world staying in the dark about their activities. It might be individuals from a nation that represses internet access to someone wanting to access a series on Netflix that’s not available in their country are the various ways in which hackers hide their IPs from oxyNo matter what your level of expertise with technology, a proxy is by far the go-to to hide your information on the Internet. For those unfamiliar with proxies, a basic idea of how they work, a proxy will reroute your connection from via a third party server so the website you access will not be able to read data specific to you. For example, A lives in England but uses a proxy server based in Germany to access a website W. Now the website, while accessing user information will find user A accessing their site from Germany instead of England. This is just an example, in reality, the proxy will hide all of your information from the resources you access. Any server on the other end will only get the information that you are plenty of free and paid proxies available. Although a word of caution. If you intend to use a proxy to carry out some serious work, its recommended to stay away from a free proxy for the sheer number of individuals that will be using this free proxy at any given time. If you do manage to get a stable connection, it’ll last for a short popular proxies:BuyProxiesHideMyAssMyPrivateProxiesYourPrivateProxyEZProxiesAnonymous-ProxiesLimeProxiesSSLPrivateProxyNewIPNowProxyNVPNSquidProxiesTORTOR- The Onion Router is another popular method used by cyber-criminals to hide their tracks. The Tor network in simpler terms sounds like a proxy on steroids. The network will bounce your connection across multiple points to provide a high degree of anonymity. Their network contains multiple tunnels across the globe, that are used to bounce the users signal. The network is accessed from the Tor browser and websites on the network have a specific address that you need to know to be able to access it does provide anonymity, one should also note the threats from using the network. Being anonymous also means the people you interact with are anonymous. Also noteworthy is the fact that though the network is secure, the browser itself isn’t. The Tor browser is just a variation of the Firefox browser and is susceptible to everything Firefox is susceptible ’sA virtual network provider will be the next level of security. A VPN basically extends a private network over the public Internet, which in turn scrambles the data passing between you and a web server leaving it useless for anyone trying to access it. While it doesn’t prevent someone from attacking your machine directly, it does a pretty good job of hiding your identity. Using a VPN in combination with any of the two mentioned methods might offer you the best possible way to hide your identity on the anging MAC addressOne should note however secure these options may sound, there is always a thin possibility of someone tracking your machine. even with all 3 of these options, one can still manage to send a malware to your machine or simply try and track down your MAC address. If one wishes to cover one’s tracks on the Internet, find a free WiFi access point, modify your WiFi card’s MAC address, and boot your computer from a “live CD”, running totally in the RAM will give you the absolute highest order of anonymity Might Also Read:
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How hackers hide their identity while hacking? – Information …
I was wondering how hackers hide their identities while hacking? For instance, consider an attacker who wants to hack a website that has a SQL injection vulnerability. If the attacker uses automated tools to send malicious payloads, the admin of the website can check the payload sender’s IP and readily find who sends these payloads.
What is it required for attackers to change their IP addresses or use proxy tools every time they want to attack a website?
schroeder♦119k52 gold badges273 silver badges306 bronze badges
asked Jan 26 ’18 at 19:01
3
You can do a lot of things to hide your public IP address. You can:
Purchase a VPN or VPS (preferably in bitcoin)
Route your traffic through the tor network
Use a proxy service
These are all well and good, but often, tor nodes and VPN IP addresses are flagged and banned from accessing some sites and services. In this case, you can:
Hack a website and use that server to launch an attack
Buy an “RDP session” to a residential network on the dark net
answered Jan 26 ’18 at 19:16
9
Phineas Fisher suggested the following approach which is a pretty good example:
Use Tor to hide the location of your origin
Use a breached machine to connect to Tor so connection hours cannot be correlated
Link to his explanation of hacker team breach:
Using Tor is going to limit what you can do so you will want to a shell to another machine after that to launch network intensive operations such as NMAP.
Also, Tor network protocol will be known and a list of nodes blacklisted so all you want to use it for is to hide where you have connected the attacking box.
Some VPNs are pretty rubbish and leak information or use rubbish encryption so beware of that.
answered Jan 27 ’18 at 0:21
McMattyMcMatty3, 1521 gold badge6 silver badges16 bronze badges
2
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How to hide your IP address (8 ways, 6 are free) – Comparitech
I’ll show you how I hide my IP address as well as several other ways to change or hide an IP address free of charge. Your IP address can be used to track your device and location over the internet, so start hiding your IP now!
@pabischoff UPDATED: March 31, 2021
An IP address is a string of numbers and decimals that identifies your device and location. If you’re connected to the internet, then you have an IP address.
Your public IP address is unique and visible to everyone on the internet, so it can be used to track you and wall you off from region-locked content.
Because I like privacy and dislike censorship, I prefer to hide my IP address from internet providers, hackers, governments, advertisers and others. In this article, I’ll explain a few free and paid methods you can use to hide your IP address, as well as a few ways to change your IP address.
What’s my IP address?
In order to hide your IP address, you first have to know what it is. This is easy; just go to Google and enter “what’s my IP address? ”
You’ll see something like this:
123. 45. 67. 89
Specifically, that’s an IPv4 address. Some of you might have IPv6 connectivity, although it hasn’t been adopted everywhere yet. If your internet provider offers IPv6 on its network, you can look up your IPv6 address as well.
It’ll look something more like this:
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
For the most part, these two addresses serve the same purpose. If you want to hide your IPv4 address, then you’ll probably want to hide your IPv6 address as well, if you have one.
You can learn more about the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 here, but I won’t get too deep into that in this article.
Your IP address probably changes once in a while due to how the internet works, but you are the only one with your current IP address on the entire internet. Similar to physical addresses, IP addresses allow computers on the internet to find each other and communicate. IP addresses are an integral part of the IP protocol, the foundation on which the internet is built. Again, I’ll sidestep the nitty gritty details on how the IP protocol works.
8 ways to hide your IP address
#1. Use a VPN to hide your IP address
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network is a software service that encrypts all of the data sent to and from the internet and routes it through a VPN server in another location. The VPN server acts as a middleman between your device and the internet, so websites and online apps only see the server’s IP address and not your own.
Most VPNs are subscription services that cost a few dollars per month for access to hundreds or even thousands of servers around the world. You just need to sign up and download the apps for your devices. After that, hiding your IP address just takes a couple of clicks. It’s really easy.
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Here’s how to hide your IP address:
First off, check your current IP address by Googling, “what’s my IP? ”
Sign up for a VPN. We recommend NordVPN.
Download the VPN app onto your device. Windows and Mac users usually get their app from the provider’s website. iOS and Android users get their app from the App Store and Google Play, respectively.
Install the VPN app and run it.
Sign in using the account credentials you created in step two.
Select a server or server location. Your new IP address will be that of this server.
Click the Connect button or double-tap the server to initiate a connection.
Once the connection has been established, you will have a new IP address. To confirm, Google “what’s my IP? ” Your new IP address should be different than in step one.
Here’s a video of how to hide your IP address with a VPN
Most commercial VPN providers, including NordVPN, use shared IP addresses, meaning that all VPN users connected to the same server are hidden behind the same IP address–that of the VPN server.
A VPN that uses shared IP addresses not only hides your real IP address, it makes you indistinguishable from all the other users. Your online activity cannot be traced back to a single user, adding a significant layer of anonymity.
If you’re serious about hiding your IP address, it’s vital to get a VPN with these features:
Private DNS servers – DNS works like a phone book for the internet by translating domain names like “” into IP addresses that your device can use to communicate. By default, you probably use DNS servers operated by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or Google, which can see your IP address when you request a website, even when connected to a VPN. For this reason, it’s important to use a VPN that operates its own DNS servers so you never expose your IP address to a third party.
Leak protection – VPNs are meant to protect all the internet data traveling to and from your device, but sometimes they leak. When they leak, they expose your IP address. Get yourself a VPN that has DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leak prevention.
Kill switch – A kill switch or network lock cuts off your entire device from the internet if the VPN connection drops for some reason, preventing anything from being sent from your real IP address without the VPN’s protection.
No-logs policy – The VPN provider should not record or store logs of your internet activity or any connection details that could be used to identify you.
2. Use a proxy to hide your IP address
Like a VPN, a proxy acts as a middleman between your device and the internet. Websites and apps see the IP address of the proxy server and not your real IP address.
In fact, a VPN is technically a type of proxy. But when I say “proxy, ” I’m usually referring to either an SSL, SSH, or SOCKS proxy. These types of proxies typically lack the encryption and other security features offered by VPNs, but they do hide your IP address from websites. They can be configured in existing apps like your browser or, like a VPN, use a third-party app.
Proxies usually don’t usually include DNS traffic, so your website requests still go to a third-party DNS server that can see your real IP address. VPNs with leak protection don’t have this problem. Furthermore, your real IP could be exposed if the proxy connection drops for some reason.
Because proxies lack the authentication of VPNs, they are also more susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks, in which an attacker can pose as the proxy server to steal your data.
Some VPNs offer HTTPS (SSL) proxies as browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. These do a decent job of protecting your browser, but other apps and DNS requests can still expose your IP address.
3. Use Tor to hide your IP address for free
Tor, short for The Onion Router, is a decentralized worldwide anonymity network operated by thousands of volunteers. When you connect to Tor, your internet traffic is encrypted and routed through a random sequence of these volunteer “nodes, ” which are sort of like proxy servers. Websites can only see the IP address of the last server in the sequence, called the exit node.
Each time you visit a website, the sequence of nodes changes. This makes it practically impossible to trace activity back to the original IP address.
The easiest way to use Tor is to download and install the Tor Browser. It works just like a barebones version of any other browser like Chrome and Firefox, and it’s completely free.
There are drawbacks, however. Tor is slow and not suitable for torrenting or streaming–stick to web browsing. Furthermore, Tor is often associated with criminal activity because it can be used to access the darknet and illicit websites. Some websites block connections from known Tor nodes, and your ISP might frown upon its use.
See also: How to set up a hidden Tor service
4. Connect to a different network to change your IP address
Whenever you change networks, your IP address changes as well. So if you think the IP address you’ve been using has been compromised, blocked, or tracked, then you can change networks to get a new one.
You can connect to a public or private wifi network, or use your smartphone’s mobile data connection. Note that public wifi hotspots and open networks can be hunting grounds for hackers that can take advantage of the lack of encryption and authentication. Opt for networks that require a password, if possible.
5. Ask your ISP to change your IP address
Your ISP is the entity that decides who gets what IP address. So if you want to change your IP address for some reason, try giving them a call. You’ll need your account information on hand, as well as your current IP address.
It shouldn’t be too hard to get a different IP address, but don’t expect it to stay the same forever. Because IP addresses are constantly being recycled in order to preserve the limited number of available IP addresses, your IP address will probably change once in a while. These are called dynamic IP addresses.
You could request a static IP address that never changes, but there might be an application process and an extra fee.
6. Unplug your modem to change your IP address
This isn’t guaranteed to work, but you can often get a new IP address by unplugging your internet modem and plugging it back in again. When you lose the connection to your ISP, your old IP address will get recycled. When you re-establish a connection, you’ll be assigned a new IP address.
The longer you leave the modem unplugged, the more likely this tactic will work. Try leaving it unplugged overnight if you have to.
Your ISP must use dynamic IP addresses for this to work. Most do.
7. Use a NAT Firewall to hide your private IP address
If you use a wireless router to connect to the internet, it’s likely that you’re behind a NAT firewall. In simplest terms, a NAT firewall allows multiple devices on the same network to use the same public IP address but unique private IP addresses. Network Address Translation (NAT) forwards requests and data from the private IP addresses of individual devices to their online destination under the router’s public IP address. This conserves address space (the number of available IP addresses) and prevents unsolicited inbound communication with potentially dangerous computers on the internet.
A NAT firewall doesn’t hide your public IP address, but your private IP address. All devices connected to a NAT-enabled router will share a public IP address. The NAT firewall will prevent any online communication that isn’t in response to a request you sent from a private IP address. All other requests and data packets are discarded because they don’t have a private IP address to which they can be forwarded.
8. Renew your IP address to change your private IP address
As mentioned above, if you’re connected to an internet router by wifi or ethernet cable, then you’ve probably got a private, or local, IP address as well. It’s not as important to keep this IP address a secret while online, but there might be instances in which you need to change it.
You can do this by entering a few simple commands into your Windows Command Prompt or Mac Terminal.
How to renew your IP address on Windows:
Search for the Command Prompt and right click it to Run as administrator
Enter ipconfig /release
Enter ipconfig /renew
You should now see a new local IP address.
How to renew your IP on MacOS:
Click the Apple menu and open System Preferences
Select Network
Highlight the network that you’re connected to in the left pane
Click Advanced…
Select the TCP/IP tab
Click Renew DHCP Lease
Your Mac will now have a different private IP address.
You can never hide your IP address from your ISP
It’s not possible to hide your IP address from your ISP. It makes sense: my ISP provides me with internet service and therefore an IP address. Without an IP address, I can’t connect to the internet.
VPNs and proxies don’t literally replace your existing IP address. They just mask your IP address with one of their own so that other computers and servers on the internet can’t see yours. But your real IP address is still there, communicating through the proxy or VPN server as an intermediary.
Even though you can never hide your real IP address from your ISP, you can hide the content and destination of your internet activity with a VPN. The encryption prevents your ISP from seeing what information you send and receive, and the ISP can only see that you’re connected to a VPN server—not the websites or apps you use. Conversely, the VPN hides your real IP address from websites and apps, but they still see the contents and destination of your internet communications.
The only parties that can see all three—your real IP address, the websites you visit, and what data is transmitted between the two—are you and your VPN provider. For this reason, I only recommend VPNs that don’t store any logs of your online activity.