What Are IP Addresses?

IP addresses, or Internet Protocol addresses, are unique identifiers that are assigned to every computer, server or other device connected to the Internet. Think of IP addresses as telephone numbers: Computers use them to locate and “talk” to each other on the Internet. A typical IP address is expressed in dot notation, e.g. 192.168.12.34. Each number in the address has a value of 1 to 255.

It is generally easier for humans to remember and use alphabetical URLs like “www.company.com”, rather than numeric IP addresses. So when you type a URL into your browser, your computer converts the URL into an IP address, language that computers can understand.

IP addresses are managed and created by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Not every computer that connects to the Internet has its own static IP number (i.e. an IP address that never changes). For example, corporate networks and online services usually share a pool of IP addresses among a large number of users, and temporarily assign an IP address to a requesting computer. A temporary IP address is referred to as a dynamic address. You can check with your internet service provider or network administrator to find out if your computer uses static or dynamic IP addressing. Click here to easily look up an IP address or domain name.

© Direct Marketing Association | Privacy Statement | Share