What to do if your IP is leaked? Quick detection and protection guide

In the Internet age, IP addresses are users' "identity identifiers" on the Internet. Once an IP address is leaked, it may lead to privacy exposure, targeted attacks, account security risks, and even be used by hackers to conduct network attacks. So, how can we effectively prevent IP address leaks? This article will introduce several practical methods to help you protect your online privacy and security.

1. Why should we protect IP addresses?

The risks that IP address leakage may bring include:

• Privacy leakage : Hackers or websites can track your geographic location, Internet habits, and even other personal information through IP addresses.
• DDoS attack : If an IP address is obtained by malicious elements, it may suffer a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, causing the network to be paralyzed.
• Social account risk control : When operating multiple social accounts (such as TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram), if multiple accounts use the same IP, it may trigger the platform's risk control mechanism and lead to account suspension.
• Being tracked by targeted ads : Advertisers use IP addresses to analyze user behavior and push personalized ads, affecting the online experience.

2. How to prevent IP address leakage?

The following methods can effectively protect your IP address and prevent malicious tracking or attacks.

(1) Use high-quality proxy IP
Proxy IP is one of the most common ways to hide your real IP. When you access the Internet through a proxy server, the target website can only see the proxy IP and cannot identify your real IP. It is recommended to use a residential proxy IP (such as Kookeey residential proxy) to avoid the data center IP being blocked due to low purity.

(2) Use virtual networks <br>Virtual networks can create a secure and isolated Internet environment, allowing the device's network connection to be transferred through virtual network nodes, thereby hiding the real IP address. Virtual networks usually have more flexible network topology configurations and are suitable for enterprise-level network security and remote access.

(3) Avoid visiting suspicious websites directly <br>Some websites will automatically record and store the IP addresses of visitors, and may even leak your real IP through WebRTC vulnerabilities. Therefore, you should be extra careful when visiting unknown or suspicious websites, and try to use a proxy or virtual network.

(4) Disable WebRTC to prevent IP leakage
WebRTC is a browser technology that can be used for voice and video communication, but it can also expose your real IP. You can disable WebRTC by:

• Chrome : Install extensions such as "WebRTC Leak Prevent" or "uBlock Origin".
• Firefox : Type about:config in the address bar, search for media.peerconnection.enabled and set it to false .

(5) Use Tor browser for anonymous access
Tor (The Onion Router) is a highly anonymous browsing tool that redirects your traffic through multiple layers of proxies, making your IP address difficult to track. However, it should be noted that Tor's access speed is slower and some websites will block Tor traffic.

(6) Change IP address regularly <br>If your IP address has been abused or leaked, you can try the following methods to change your IP:

• Reconnect to the Internet (some ISPs will assign a new IP address).
• Use a dynamic residential IP proxy to get a new IP each time you visit.
• Switch different egress IP addresses through virtual networks.
• Contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to request a change of IP address.

(7) Avoid performing sensitive operations on public Wi-Fi . Public Wi-Fi networks are easily monitored and attacked by hackers. If you must use public Wi-Fi, it is recommended to use it with a virtual network or proxy to avoid leakage of IP addresses and personal information.

3. How to detect whether the IP is leaked?

You can use the following tools to detect whether your IP address has been leaked:

• WhatIsMyIP ( https://www.whatismyip.com/)
• IPLeak ( https://ipleak.net/)
• BrowserLeaks ( https://browserleaks.com/)

If the detection finds that your real IP is exposed, it is recommended to adjust the security policy immediately, such as changing the IP, using a virtual network, or disabling WebRTC.

Summarize

IP address leakage may lead to privacy risks, social account bans, and even cyber attacks. Therefore, it is very important to protect IP addresses. Using proxy IPs or virtual networks, disabling WebRTC, and changing IPs regularly can effectively prevent IP leakage and ensure Internet security. For users who need to operate multiple social accounts, cross-border e-commerce, or data crawling, it is recommended to choose a high-purity residential proxy IP to ensure account security and stability.