You may have often heard of people talking about IP addresses and wondered exactly what they are. They are mentioned frequently when the subject of computers comes up, and knowing what an IP address is will help you understand how the internet and computers in general function.

If your computer can connect to the internet, it has an IP address. Every computer that has this function has one, and without an IP address, it is impossible for a computer to connect with other computers over the web.

When trying to determine what your exact IP address is, try looking on a popular search engine such as Google or Yahoo!. Most likely, your search will generate lots of results which you can then follow to find your IP address. Good search terms are: “what is my IP address?” or “what’s my IP?”.

You will be able to recognize an IP address as a series of numbers that resemble a phone number. It will have four numbers that are between 0 and 255 – and in between each number, there will be a period. If you are in any way tech-savvy, you will be able to pinpoint someone’s location through an IP number, just as you can determine someone’s location from a phone’s area code. In fact, there are web addresses that can tell you this information. IP addresses work the same as phone numbers in that they are essential for communicating with other networks.

There are so many IP addresses in the world now that soon they may actually surpass the total world population. If and when that eventually happens, the format of IP addresses (0 – 255) may have to change. For now, though, this is the standard format that is in use across the globe.