Facts You Must Know About Private IP Addresses

There are two kinds of Internet Protocol addresses or IP addresses. They can be either public or private addresses. There are a few differences between the two and each of them serves a particular purpose. Understanding these differences can help you when you are trying to set up a private IP network.

Public IP Addresses

Every computer in the world has a unique public IP address with which denotes its position on the Internet. As it is unique, there will never be two computers connected to the internet which will have the same public IP address. Users cannot change the IP address of their computer as it is automatically assigned by the ISP as soon as the device connects to the Internet. VPNs only mask this address with another one. Public IP addresses can be dynamic or static.

Private IP Addresses

Private IP addresses are those whose IP numbers fall into any one of the ranges that have been reserved use in a private network. Local Area Network is one type of private network. There are 3 ranges which have been reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority for use in private networks only. These ranges are given below.

• 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255
• 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
• 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255

These addresses can only be used to number the computers linked in a private network. It is possible for a network admin to change the address as per requirements. In a private IP network, a device cannot connect to the internet or any other public network as they only have private IP addresses. Instead, the computer can use the private IP address to communicate with the other computers in the same network only.

The Benefits of Private Networks

By creating private networks, it is possible to enjoy a range of benefits. Some of them are given below.

• Security: One of the obvious advantages of these networks is that they can keep the computers in the network safe from the viruses and other malicious programs that are often spread through the Internet. Moreover, as these networks are not connected to public networks, it is not possible to breach the network from outside and access the data in the computers.
• Self-Contained: A private network is not vulnerable to issues and technical problems that occur on external networks. Problems in external servers or internet connectivity will not affect the performance of the private network or the computers in it as they are all self-contained. Additionally, any issue that does occur inside the network can be easily rectified through the network equipment.

Private Networks Are Not About Stealth

It is a common myth among laymen that private IP addresses and networks are used for browsing the internet stealthily. In other words, they believe that it is possible to remain undetected on the internet through these networks and IP addresses. That is not true at all. After all private IP addresses cannot be used over the internet and private networks do not connect to the internet at all. More importantly, Internet Protocol has been designed to be transparent. As such, it is easy to find out the private IP address of a device from within the network.

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