How do I Find my IP Address on Vista

I come across a lot people who ask me how they can find their IP address on PC, or on vista. The process is extremely simple and is discussed further, but let us first see what is an IP address.

IP(Internet Protocol) address is a distinct number given to each and every machine connected to the internet. This means that if you are using any public internet connection (wired or wireless), you will definitely have a unique IP address assigned for your desktop computer or laptop computer. The IP address appears in the form of a number separated by dots, and looks something like 754.256.278.559.

It becomes much simpler to understand a person's location from his IP address, as these numbers are allotted to internet service providers on a regional basis. This gives information about the user's general location, like country or region. They also have corresponding 'Hostnames', for easy remembrance and identification. It depends on your Internet Service Provider and can also change if you want get a different service provider or plan.

Finding Your IP Address

Go to the start menu, drag your mouse cursor to "Network' and right click on it. From the drop down list which appears, select 'Properties' option. You will see a 'Network and Sharing' window on your computer screen.

Click on the 'Local Area Connection' option, to find out your IP address, if you are using a wired connection. In case you are using a wireless connection, click on 'Wireless Network Connection' option.

Simply click on 'Details' to view you IP address. It will be besides the 'IPv4 IP Address'.

How do I Find my IP Address in XP

To find out the IP address on your Windows XP operating system, go to the start menu and right click on 'My Network Places'. From the drop-down list which appears, select 'Properties' and a window will open.

Click the 'View Status' option which will be besides 'Local Area Connection', if you are using a wired connection. In case you are using an wireless connection, you will have to click the 'View Status' option appearing besides 'Wireless Network Connection'.

Simply click on 'Details' to view your IP address. It will be besides the 'IPv4 IP Address'.

Finding Your IP address on DOS

Apart from the way mentioned above, there is another one which you can use. This works in XP and Windows 2000 also. You can do it using DOS or command prompt.

Go to the start button, click it and from the menu which appears, select 'All Programs' option. Go to 'Accessories' and click on the 'Command Prompt' option. The command prompt window will appear.

In this window, you will have to type the following command - ipconfig and press 'Enter'. Your IP address will be shown on your screen and will be in the format nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn (n stands for digits 0-9).

How do I Find my IP address in Linux

In case you are using the Linux operating system, it is very simple to find out your IP address. You will have to just type the following command, /sbin/ipconfig and press 'Enter'. Your IP address will appear on the computer screen, next to 'inet addr:'.

These days there are certain websites online which will provide you with your IP address by just logging on. You can use them or any of the methods discussed above to find your IP address.