Once authenticated, the VPN client and VPN server can be sure they are talking to each other and no one else. AuthenticationĮstablishing a secure connection is a tricky problem solved by clever mathematics in a process called authentication. This makes you more anonymous on the internet. The VPN server acts like a proxy, or stand-in, for your web activity: Instead of your real IP address and location, websites you visit will only see the IP address and location of the VPN server. You can actually set up a VPN on your router, but to do so you will need to access the web-based router configuration page, using your router’s IP address.Here are several key concepts related to VPN that will help you understand how a VPN works and the benefits it provides: Proxying This will shield your real IP address from the websites you visit, enhancing your overall privacy. Remember, you can also change the public IP address that is linked to you online by using a VPN. Once you find the default IP for your router, you can simply enter it into your web browser’s address bar to access your router’s web interface. Windows computers call it the “default gateway,” while iOS devices store your router’s IP address under “router.” Different devices will have different ways of identifying the router’s IP address. However, it’s possible there won’t be one, so you’ll have to use one of your connected devices to look it up.Īll devices connected to the same network send their requests to the router by default. So how do you find an IP address? The simplest way to find the IP address of a router is to look for a sticker on the back of it. If you’re wondering, “What is my default gateway IP address?”, chances are it’s one of these: How do private and public IP addresses not get mixed up? The Internet Assigned Number Authority reserved some IPv4 address ranges to be used only for private networks. You can usually change your network name quite easily.

Your router’s IP is a way for other networks and servers on the internet to communicate with it: a network name is the name that displays when you’re trying to connect a device to it. IP stands for internet protocol, and though it acts as a kind of name tag for your network, it shouldn’t be confused with a network name. Since your router is most likely the entry node to your wireless network, your router IP and default gateway IP are the same thing. A default gateway IP address is an IP address that belongs to your network’s entry node. IP addresses allow data packets sent online to find their intended recipients. An IP address is like a device’s identification tag.

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