How to change the IP of your computer in a simple way

change ip

Change the IP of a device, it can be a more or less simple task, depending on what our need to do it is and what IP we need to change, since it is not the same to change the IP of a computer / device connected to a home network via Wi- Fi or via ethernet cable than an internet connection.

Changing the IP that our connection has for one from another country, allows us access content that is geo-blockedEither streaming video services or web pages that have been censored in a country. Both functions are the main attractions that VPN services offer us.

What is IP

What is IP

The IP is the license plate that we use to surf the internet. Every time we access a web page, the destination web stores our IP, our registration, so that they know at a time who has accessed their services. This IP, which is provided by our internet provider (ISP), can be fixed or variable.

If the IP is fixed, we will always have the same IP when we navigate through that connection, so the operator can associate that IP with our name and know at all times what we do on the internet. If the IP is variable, it changes regularly, but is still associated with a name.

What is a VPN

VPN

One of us is clear about what IP is, we have to talk about VPN services. These services create virtual private networks (VPN for its acronym in English) between our equipment and its servers, so that our operator does not know what we are using their internet connection for, so it cannot record our activity.

But also, when using a VPN service, the IP we use to navigate is completely different, it is a IP of the country that we have selected to navigate. In this way, we can access geographically blocked content, either from streaming video services or web pages that are censored in our country.

How to change the IP

At the beginning of this article, I commented that it is not the same to change the IP of a device on a local network than the IP we use to surf the Internet. Here are the steps to follow to change both IPs and what advantages and disadvantages they offer us.

Change IP on a local network

change IP device local network

Each and every one of the devices that we have at home with an internet connection, have a IP identifier starting with 192.168.xx This identifier allows other household devices to connect with each other. If we change the IP of one of them, we have to change the associated IP in all the devices that connect to it.

Is it really worth changing a local IP? It is not worth the change, as we have to change the IP on all devices that connect to that device. The only reason that could force us to change the IP of a local device would be if it conflicts with other devices, that is, that another device had the same IP associated with it, something unlikely but not impossible.

To change the IP of a device connected to a local network, we must access the configuration options of the device, either Wi-Fi or via ethernet cable and establish a fixed IP. In this way, it will not be the network that will provide you with an IP address, but rather it will be the device that will facilitate the identifier with which you want to be recognized.

Change the IP of an internet connection

When changing the IP of our internet connection, that is, the IP used by all devices that connect to the internet through the same modem or router, we have three options.

Restart the router

The easiest method to change the IP associated with a modem or router is reboot the device. Depending on our operator, it is possible that after restarting it, we will continue to have the same IP. That means that our IP is fixed, that is, our identifier in the ISP is always the same, we do not have a variable IP.

Having a fixed IP allows us create your own server through your computer, server that we can access with our IP (an option that is also available with variable IPs but is a more complex process). Some operators allow you to change the variable IP to a fixed one, an interesting option if you want to create your own server without using a NAS.

Use a VPN

How a VPN works

The other method we have at our disposal to change the IP is to use a VPN service. When we use a VPN, before connecting to the internet, we have to use the application of the service that we have contracted to select the country from where we supposedly want to connect.

In this way, our operator, will not know at any time, for which we are using the internet connection that we have contracted. Thanks to the anonymity that these services offer us, we can download any type of internet content (such as Torrents) without our operator knowing about it and thus being able to inform the corresponding authorities, since in some countries it is totally prohibited.

VPNs that are paid, do not store any record of our browsing online, so when choosing a service of this type, it is always advisable to use a paid one. Free VPNs, if they store our activity for the sole purpose of trading with our data just like the operators do.

Using the Tor network

Tor Browser

Thor is a browser that allows us to navigate the darkweb, where is all the content that is not indexable by search engines like Google, mainly because it is illegal content. When we use Thor, the browser connects to a server that temporarily gives us an IP to navigate through the Internet, not only through the dark web.

The IP that you temporarily assign to us is random, so it is not an alternative to VPNs if we want to access geographically limited content, but to browse anonymously without our internet operator being able to track all our activity. Keep in mind that the browsing speed is much lower than what our ISP offers us.

Conclusion

Once we know what the IP is and how VPNs work, it is not difficult to conclude that it really no applications needed to change the IP. This process can be done directly from the device we use to connect to the internet via a Wi-Fi connection or directly use a VPN.

On the internet we can find a large number of applications that assure us to allow us to change the IP of our connection completely free, applications that in most cases include some type of malware.


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Actualidad Blog
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.