Surfers seek to hide their IP for a number of reasons. Often it is done to view sites that have been blocked by an administrator at school or work. No matter the reason, it’s easy to accomplish once you know the basic steps to follow.
It would be impossible to browse online without any IP address at all, because that is how web pages can route your requests. Hiding your IP address is actually a process of changing your ISP-issued IP to a new one, in effect “hiding” your old IP.
Although there is a wide variety of ways to hide your IP in different applications such as web browsers, here we’ll be looking at changing the system settings in Windows 7 or Vista to achieve the desired effect.
Note: It’s not recommended to use this method often, as your ISP may have a policy preventing frequent renewal of IPs. If you need to change your IP often, use a proxy server instead by following one of the tutorials below.
Step 1: If you have a router
Turn your router AND modem OFF.
Disconnect the Ethernet cables from your router.
Plug the cable from your modem directly into your computer.
Restart both the computer and modem.
Wait for your Internet connection to become active again.
Launch a web browser to confirm that your internet connection is working.
If you run into any difficulties, restart your modem and computer again. First, disable your Local Area Connection (LAN). Then, enable the LAN connection. Most likely that will bring your connection back.
Step 2: Confirm your current IP address
Visit CheckIP.org to see your current IP address (for comparison purposes later). Paste the IP into Notepad or write it down.
Step 3: Launch Command Prompt
Click the START menu, then type “cmd” in the white search box (don’t include the quotes) and hit Enter.
Step 4: Release the current IP
When the window pops up and prompt appears, type “ipconfig /release” (with a space before the slash) and hit Enter.
Step 5: Reset your modem
Turn your modem OFF and wait 30-45 seconds before switching it back ON.
Wait another 30-45 seconds after restarting the modem. Watch as the LED lights light up.
Step 6: Reset your connection
Go back to your START Menu then click on “Control Panel.”
Click “Network and Internet”, then “Network and Sharing Center” (click the big green text, not the blue links)
In the left-side pane, click the link for “Manage network connections”
Select your “Local Area Connection”, Right-click it, and choose “Disable”.
Wait 10-15 seconds.
Once more, right-click on “Local Area Connection,” and this time select “Enable”.
Wait 30-60 seconds. This is an IMPORTANT step. Do not try to proceed before giving it some time to work.
Step 7: Confirm the changes
Go to CheckIP.org to see your current IP address. Compare the original IP you either pasted into Notepad or wrote down to the IP in your web browser.
Nice work! You have successfully hidden your IP address in Windows 7 or Vista!
It’s recommended that you run CCleaner to clear the cookies from your computer. Otherwise your efforts to shake off trackers will most likely be wasted.