IP Address Lookup WHOIS
Every computer or device connected to the Internet has a unique identifier known as an IP (Internet Protocol) address. The unique number is similar to your residential address that identifies your location and potentially other information associated with your identity. The IP Address Lookup does not provide a lot of detailed information about you but nevertheless it can reveal your location and the source of your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Although there are ways to hide your IP address there are many methods you can use to discover the location of the person who is behind the IP address. There are strategies which businesses use to IP Address Lookup for targeted advertising purposes and other methods that private computer users deploy to discover the source of a message. Here is some useful advice on the different ways you can use an IP Address Lookup:
IP Address Lookup WHOIS With Advertisers and Cookies
Advertisers will trace your IP address through the use of cookies to geotarget advertising to your location. You may notice that after surfing the web and looking at content for specific topics you begin to see ads appear which are related to websites you visited. The ads may even refer to your geographic location.
Website owners work with advertising agencies to target their advertising by placing cookies on your PC which trace your IP address and follow you wherever you go on the Internet. If you understand how advertisers trace your IP address you can take the necessary steps to block targeted advertising and protect your privacy.
Depending upon the browser you are using there are add-ons that you can use to block targeted ads. For example, Firefox offers an add-on known as Beef Taco that helps you to prevent your IP address from being traced when you are browsing the Internet.
IP Address Lookup from Email
To perform a IP Address Lookup from an email message you receive it is necessary to locate the transmission details in the header of the message. Depending upon the email client you are using the procedure for tracing an IP address may vary.
Most email clients contain a Properties feature which offers an icon that says, “Message Details” or “Details.” When you click on the icon you should be able to view the entire header of the message. Although the details may appear to be complex look for a number separated by decimals such as 128.45.52.122. Once you locate the number you can go to a site such as www.whoipaddress.com to find the origin of the IP address.
IP Address Lookup for a Website
It is also possible to do a IP Address Lookup for a website to discover where the host is located. If you are using the Windows operating system simply click on Start on the main toolbar and then choose Run from the popup menu. When the command prompt appears enter “cmd” and then press the Enter key.
You will see another command prompt appear for C:\WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe with a blinking cursor. Type in “tracert” and follow this command with the URL of the website such as www.whoipaddress.com. Wait for the system to process your command and then you should see the IP address for the website appear in the command prompt box. Enter “who IP address” into your search query to locate a WHOIS website and do a IP Address Lookup.
IP Address Lookup on Facebookâ¨
The only way to perform an IP Address Lookup on social media sites such as Facebook is if someone has sent you a message. When the message arrives in your Inbox you can trace it in the same manner as described above under “Tracing an IP Address for Email.” Once you locate the IP address enter “who IP address” into the search engine and locate a site such as WhoIPAddress.com that will assist you with tracing the IP address.
It is important to keep in mind that you may not be able to trace an IP address back to the specific person. When you use WHOIS sites your search will return the name of the Internet Service Provider and the approximate location of the IP address. It is also important to mention that in the case of spam many spammers use special software that cloaks their IP address to avoid being terminated by their ISP. The address that you view in the email heading may not be the actual IP address for the person sending the message. Keep this in mind when doing a IP Address Lookup.