There are a lot of people who seem to think that if someone can get their IP address, they can automatically steal their identity. In reality, this is pretty unlikely, though. It is true that if someone gains your IP address, they can determine your rough geographic location; at the same time, this is pretty much the same as someone finding out your home address, but not having a key to your house. And even if they did try to break into your system, a good firewall and anti-virus software can stop most hackers before they get anywhere.

If you post on messageboards or comment on blogs, it’s more than likely that your IP address has appeared numerous times to lots of strangers on the internet. As mentioned above, if you have good anti-virus and firewall protection, this is no big deal. And at the end of the day, a hacker with the knowledge to get past all of your security barriers probably wouldn’t waste their time trying to get a hold of your information when they could be using their knowledge to hack into major corporations or government agencies. As much as you may think your information is sensitive, the truth is that for most high-level hackers, it would be a waste of time. As well, a mid-to-low-level hacker would probably leave traces of themselves behind on your system – much as an amateur burglar would leave clues behind if they tried to break into your house.

However, if you truly are worried about your security online, then you may want to think about getting a dynamic IP address. This type of IP address changes nearly every time you re-start your system, making it almost impossible for hackers to determine your identity and get into your system.