IP Question help

[vattenverket878]

TLDR: Is my IP secure if it looks like this: 12.123.321.123?

Hello everyone!

So, i often help Wikipedia out by editing/fixing articles that are incorrect or got some other error in them, and i just noticed that they store/keep your IP in a list that EVERYONE can see,that makes me a bit scared to be honest.

So my question(s) is, can anyone use my IP to do something bad like DDOS or hack me etc?
What is a secure IP address and what does it look like?

Some other people on this forum said that there are multiple IP "versions" that exist, examples:
12.123.321.123 (This is how my IP looks like)
123.12.123.321 (He stated that this is how the modem/router IP looks like for his router/modem)
But what if you got a IP like mine: 12.123.321.123, is it secure or not?

One guy also stated that a IP adress like this: "123.321.1.12"(example) is secure and is a IP that no one outside your network can see, is that true?


Sorry for a confusing thread, i hope you guys understand because i am worthless when it comes to IP/PC/internet etc problems. Also not 100% sure if i posted in the right forum (Networking), Thanks.

 

[bill001g]

There are 2 types of ip in general. Public and private ones. All IP used on the internet are public. Private ones are only used in your home network and never leave and are invisible. There is no such thing as a secure ip address.

The main function of your router is to convert the IP you use in your house to the single public IP the ISP provides.

Although someone may attempt ddos attacks normally the only way to do that is to pay a hacking company that control a bunch of compromised machines to let you rent it.

Best bet would be to use a VPN company so you get to temporarily use a different public IP address. Since the IP address used by VPN companies are shared by many people attempting to hack them does not accomplish much.

 

[asoroka]

As previous poster said.

You have 1 public IP address allocated to your router by your ISP, this is either fixed or dynamic. Unless you are paying for a fixed IP, then it will dynamic.
So it can change every time you switch your modem off.

This is the address that the outside world sees. They can't see your internal network address.

I doubt if your IP is 12.123.321.123 as the max value for any group is 255.

Regardless, you will have one IP that can be reached from the outside. No one can connect to any of your internal computers (probably IP 192.168.x.x) unless you actively allow the connection.

You should set up DDOS protection on your router and keep its firmware up to date. Also you should make sure you understand your firewall rules.

You don't really need a VPN, it does not make you anonymous, it protects your data while it is in transit and does make some attacks more difficult, but you can still be traced.

If you want to know your current public IP just run this search in Google.
whoami ip

 

[failboat]

You need to understand how someone would see your ip to keep it safe.
any site or service you go to shows them your ip. other users connecting wouldn't know it.
if you run a service online then anyone connecting see's the ip.

Posting on this forum only the forum admin's see your ip. other users shouldn't be able to.
If you're playing a game on hosted servers only the host knows unless a service on there is not secure.
player hosted games the host can see it. teamspeak and mumble are hosted by players.
if someone is trying to target you for a dos they are going to have to trick you into connecting to something they can see your ip on, like teamspeak or a link to a site they are hosting, even if it redirects you to a site you trust. same with pictures. forums like this only allow certain ways to post pictures for good reason.

your nat is going to block inbound connections unless you create holes in it.
you only want to make outbound connections to trusted parties.
once a connection is made they can send packets to you.
your router will close the connection once you are done with it. you would have to reopen it again.