Most of the people worldwide currently use the internet daily. To maintain safety on the internet, many safety measures are also being established. An IP address is a digital identity tool that is used to track the location of devices and to know about users. When authorities can find any harmful or suspicious activity on the internet, they track the IP address to reveal its location. This gives a lot of information about the culprit or perpetrator of the suspected task. We will talk extensively about what is an IP address and how they are tracked, in this article.
What is an IP address?
IP address or Internet Protocol address is a string of numbers unique to your network and device. Whenever you are connected to any online interface or website, the operator will see your IP address. Tracing your IP address by someone who knows it can reveal where you are using the internet from, and who your service provider is.
Also Read: Trick to find someone’s IP Address
What exactly is meant by tracking an IP address?
When someone tracks an IP address, it means he/she gathers information about them through it. The most important of these is the location from which they are browsing the internet.
How are IP addresses tracked using the command prompt?
On a Windows system, one can track the location of a person with the help of his IP address, using the command prompt. Here are the steps to do it:
- Pressing the ‘Windows + R’ keys on the keyboard.
- Inputting ‘cmd’ in the text box, then click on ‘ok’
- In the text box that pops up next, ‘ping’ is input, and the URL of the website to be viewed is the IP.
- Then the ‘Tracert’ command is input with the IP address.
- Then the resultant IP address is copied and pasted into a tool for IP lookup.
- These IP lookup sites are free and available through browsers.
How are IP addresses traced via email?
IP addresses can also be tracked from most mainstream email platforms. Although the steps vary based on the email service used by each person, these are the general ways through which it is done.
- Opening the ‘options’ menu in the email is the first step.
- Then the option for ‘raw mail’ or ‘view original’ is clicked.
- Within the raw mail, the sender’s IP address can be seen.
- All addresses from that raw data are then put into an IP lookup tool.
Conclusion
These days, safety over the internet has become more and more crucial. With the rise of cybercrimes, tracking locations using IP addresses has become one of the ways in which devices and their locations can be properly identified. Following some simple steps over email and using the command prompt, IP addresses can be tracked to reveal the location of any device suspected of malicious activity. This article has shed light on IP addresses, their nature, and how they are used to track the location of users on the internet.
