HOW TO LOOK UP YOUR IP ADDRESS AND CHECK FOR BLACKLISTING

WHAT IS AN IP ADDRESS?

An IP address is a string of numbers that is assigned by your ISP to the device you are using at the location you are using it.  

ISP stands for Internet Service Provider - it is who you pay for your internet service.


IP stands for Internet Protocol.  When you want to go on the Internet, your device and location is identified by this string of numbers. 

Most IP addresses look like this:

151.101.65.121

There are public IP addresses and private IP addresses.  



Private IP's are within your business office or your home network. An example would be internet service provided at your workplace which allows you to go on the INTERnet on a limited basis (for example real time  invoice and package tracking), but they also provide inTRA-net which is used inter-office and allows each employee to send inter-office mail to other employees in your office and create and view real time work related material because you are all on the same network.


Public IP's are assigned by your internet service provider (ISP) and are used outside of your home or business network to communicate with other devices around the world.  You need one when you want to go on websites and use programs to communicate with other people both in real time and by email. An example of speaking in real time would be using Messenger to talk with Facebook friends or typing on Facebook group walls to communicate with other group members.


 

the easy way is to type it in your browser

You can find your own IP address in two ways.  

1 - The easiest way is to type into your browser "What's my IP address?" and the first result that comes up is their website. It has alot of ads but ignore them. Don't click on them or you will end up lost and possibly download something because you think it is this site offering it to you.  


https://whatismyipaddress.com



Now that you are on their site, take a look at the tabs across the top.  The one that is intriguing is how to HIDE your IP address but as attractive as it is to be able to remain anonymous, most websites won't let you in because they can't see who you are.  So don't hide if you are surfing. If you are idle or playing a game, you can try to do it then.



The one tool we want you to investigate is on the tab titled "Blacklist Check."  This tool checks to see if your IP address has ever been blacklisted which means that it is barred from accessing certain sites. Give it a minute to work and then it will give you a list of between 10 and 80 sites. 



If you see the names of familiar sites - maybe some favorites that you used to visit but can't access anymore - then you will know the reason why is because your IP address was blacklisted. You might be able to access it from a friend's house but not your house.



The reason isn't necessarily something you did; usually the blacklisting occurred because someone who used to have that IP address was either a hacker, a scammer, sent out a lot of spam mail or was trying to cheat Google on their Adsense program by being creative to inflate the number of visitors and clicks so they get paid more money.



There are directions on how to get Un-Blacklisted if you see a site you want to go to all the trouble to file a grievance.



But the easiest way is to contact your internet provider and tell them to assign you a new IP address. Takes 30 seconds and it's free.



The next tab to take a look at is "Speed Test" 

You can do a speed test any time you want to, but this one tests the speed of your bandwidth connection.  An optimal speed would be over 150 mbps on Download and over 20 mbps on Upload.



TIP:

Whenever you see your device getting sluggish or slowing down, hanging before going to the next task, or requiring hitting certain keys more than once, it is because your speed slowed down for some reason. Reboot your device and try again. Usually a reboot (total shut down) will bring you back to optimal speed.


2- The second way you can find your IP address is on your device by going to Settings>>Network Center>>View your active networks.

On the picture below, I blocked out my IP address so I don't get hacked by a reader who thinks it's a great idea to try to hack me.  (hint: it's not a great idea)

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