At your house, it depends upon how you get your IP address, and who it comes from. Most people have a "dynamic IP" address that is allocated semi-randomly to their computer when it connects to your ISP (whether or not it is by cable modem or another method). This dynamic IP address often changes, but the ISP usually have logs of what IP is handed out to what computer. So if the ISP keeps the logs, with some work, the IP that you use could be traced to your computer. Btw your computer has a unique id -- its MAC address -- which is paired with the IP address https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MAC_address).

There is a public service "IP Geolocation" where anyone can take an IP address and try and look up the location from it. It is usually laughably inaccurate. It's good for getting the country (and US State) of the IP, but not the city. When I tested with my IP addresses it identifies me as coming from a city about 50 miles away ... because that's where my ISP connects to the rest of the Internet. Often it will just return the center of a region and not anything more accurate. Sometimes it'll give up and return "0,0" and give you the mid-point of the contental US. Which (if I remember correctly) happened to be in a large lake. Basically GeoLoc can be useful to figure out a default language for your web site if you're concerned about multiple language support. But not useful to send the police to pick up someone.

But .. .when you're using a cell phone, the cellular provider is your ISP and the IP address is handed out to your phone when you connect to their network. I don't know for sure, but I would expect they keep logs of when each cell tower gives out which IP address. And probably also the IMEI (unique id) of your phone that gets the IP.

So yeah, the exact location of your home internet use might not be easy to get, but if you login with your cell phone ... the logs could pair your web usage with your specific phone, and then it's just one more database lookup to translate your unique phone id to your real id.

This is why the hackers developed the 'dark web' to make it difficult to track people down. And one reason why VPN's are a business, to obscure your IP address from the other end of your network connection.

Hope this helped

BComplex

(9,390 posts)

8. CloudWatcher, I've been wanting to get a VPN service, but I have a couple of questions. Can you help?

Reply to CloudWatcher (Reply #7)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 01:37 PM

Thursday

First, I was wondering if it makes going to my favorite websites more cumbersome or somehow slower? Also, is it something I have to worry with if I'm just getting into my computer when I boot up in the morning?
And while I'm asking questions, which is a really good VPN provider?

I'm pretty sure elon&doge have sold all of the personal information they've gotten hold of going through our government servers, and I really feel like I need to become a little more concealed from bad actors, if at all possible.

CloudWatcher

(1,999 posts)

9. VPN opinions ...

Reply to BComplex (Reply #8)

Thu Apr 24, 2025, 11:57 PM

Thursday

Disclaimer: I know more than a little about networking, but there's always more to learn. I don't consider myself a real VPN expert, but I'll try and respond to your questions.

First, I was wondering if it makes going to my favorite websites more cumbersome or somehow slower?

VPN's are another step between your computer and your favorite websites. It will absolutely make accessing them slower. But ... you might need a very good measurement tool to notice the difference. I.e. the extra delay or slowness is probably not something you'll notice unless the VPN service you're using is crappy and overloaded. I'll resist talking about latency vs. bandwidth and just say that it depends on how you use the network (watching movies? Email? Video chat? Twitch games?). Most uses of the Internet won't be bothered by slight delays, but others (video chat, first-person shooter games) can be ruined by a slow VPN server.

Basically performance is normally:

[your computer]----[the network path]----[the remote web server]

It can be slow because of your computer, the network, or the web server.

But with a VPN service it turns into:

[your computer]----[the network path]----[the remote VPN server]----[another network path]----[the remote web server]

It's not going to be faster, it's got more ways of failing, and yet it'll be fine for most uses.

Also, is it something I have to worry with if I'm just getting into my computer when I boot up in the morning?

The short answer is no, you probably don't have worry about VPN when just using your computer for local stuff. The longer answer is maybe, if when you boot your computer .. does it automatically access the network to download your email? To check other network resource? Do you care if those servers are seeing your "real" IP address vs. a VPN server that's hiding you? Offhand I can't think of a scenario where you'd care.

And while I'm asking questions, which is a really good VPN provider?

Great question and I have no idea. When I use VPN it's with a remote server that I've setup. I suggest two rules of thumb when picking a VPN service: (1) Free isn't a great deal. They're making money somehow. Figure out how and see if you're ok with their business model. (2) I'd personally avoid any VPN service based in Hong Kong. VPN servers are the connecting point between your IP address and the public ones visible by the world. Do you really want China to have access to your VPN traffic?

If I were shopping for a VPN service, I'd probably look at NordVPN first. But that's not an endorsement!

I'm pretty sure elon&doge have sold all of the personal information they've gotten hold of going through our government servers, and I really feel like I need to become a little more concealed from bad actors, if at all possible.

I don't know about sold, I suspect hoarded for future use might be more accurate. Oh, and shared (intentionally or not) with our masters in Russia. And the data they have stolen is a lot more valuable and complete than the IP address you're using to access DU and Google.

But finally ... are you sure you need a VPN service? It's a mild pain (and expense) and unless you're looking to access services that are not available in your home country, I personally don't think it's worth it. And the VPN ads are ridiculous. First they convince you that you should be terrified, then they sell you their product as a solution. Yeah. I don't trust fear-based marketing.

As a salve for a more general "I don't like them watching me" ... VPN as a solution is over-hyped. It hides your IP address, but it doesn't slow down most of the real-world problems: data theft (from people you've shared your info with), malware, viruses, phishing attacks, fake email, popup ads cheerfully telling you that your computer is infected and to call their 800 number right way for help. The list seems to go on forever and VPN is not a general solution to any of the most common problems.

In any event, I hope this helps a little. Cheers!

BComplex

(9,390 posts)

10. Wow! Thank you so much!

Reply to CloudWatcher (Reply #9)

Fri Apr 25, 2025, 11:28 AM

Friday

Yes that definitely helped, and your reply made all the sense in the world, and answered all my questions! I'm grateful for the information, and I've decided not to go the VPN route. I live out in the country, and my internet speed is really slow compared to what people in more populated areas are able to enjoy.

I'm just going to get a malware upgrade and hope for the best.

Thanks again!

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