Supportsoft Glossary

Unique Identifier for Networked Devices

IP addressing is how computers and computers on the Internet ("Internet") communicate with each other over a series of complex protocols (rules) that a network or a computer connection uses or interprets to transfer information. It is similar to how a postal address enables mail to be sent to your home. An IP address identifies the location of a device on a computer network (the Internet) so that the devices can find and send messages or files from and to each other.

Now there are two types of IP addresses: IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4), which has a well-known 4-digit format, and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), which provides a significantly larger address space for all new devices being connected to the Internet. IP addresses can be either static or dynamic. 'Static' means that the IP address will stay the same forever, whereas 'dynamic' means that the IP address may change (due to the way the network is configured) based on how your network administrator sets it up.

An IP address contains information about how devices access the Internet, such as your location, and because of the ability to trace the IP address back to the last-known IP address from the time a hacker used it to access their system, IP address information should be protected at all costs. Also, firewalls, virtual private networks (VPN), and internet/network policy provide some protection against undesired access to a network based on the known user IP address(es).