Member Avatar for virtualmisc

I want to hide my IP from my network so that no one in my network
can trace the sites I visit.
Is it possible?
How can I do it?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

Dani AI

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Short answer: you cannot be completely invisible on a network. As pointed out, a remote server must have an address to send pages back, so something routable always exists. Also heed : if you are on a managed network (work/school), attempting to bypass monitoring or policy can have disciplinary or legal consequences.

Practical options and tradeoffs:

  • VPN: hides your real public IP from websites and peers on the Internet, but the local network will still see a connection to the VPN server (and the VPN provider can see traffic unless it is end-to-end encrypted). Choose a reputable provider, enable DNS-leak protection and a client "kill switch" so traffic does not fall back to the network if the VPN drops.
  • Tor Browser: offers stronger anonymity for web browsing but is slower; Tor exit nodes can see unencrypted traffic, and browser fingerprinting/account logins can deanonymize you. See the Tor Project for guidance (Tor Project).
  • Proxies/HTTP(S) proxies: typically less private than VPNs and often log connections; always use HTTPS over a proxy to protect content.
  • Local LAN visibility: peers on the same Wi-Fi can still see device-level activity (ARP/MAC), so absolute invisibility on a local network is not achievable. Using a separate network (mobile tethering) or a VPN reduces what others can learn about destinations.

Test for leaks (IP/DNS/WebRTC) after configuring tools, and remember no single tool guarantees perfect anonymity. For general browser/network privacy best practices see resources from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

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Member Avatar for crunchie

If you are on a network at work or school, then we will not be helping you to break their rules.

Member Avatar for jbennet

Simply, no.

e.g.

What happens when you view a web page is that you ask it for a page, and then the web server sends it back to you. It obviously cant do that if it doesnt know who you are.

Therefore there always is the possibility that the web server can (and probably will) log your IP.

Edited by jbennet because: n/a
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