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Why do you need this?
Sometimes you need to know your real external IP address.
Maybe you're playing the latest first-person shooter over the net on your PS2, XBox or GameCube. Maybe you need to access your PC from a remote location, or set up a VPN. Maybe you're setting up a webcam for video conferencing.
If your machine is connected to the internet through a hub or router, then chances are that your local IP address and your public IP address are different. DSL, Cable and Dial-up internet connections assign addresses dynamically with DHCP, giving your network a different IP address on each connection. So to use Network Address Translation (NAT) to properly direct external traffic to a local desktop PC, gaming console, or server, you'll need to know your external IP address.
Running an "ipconfig" command in the DOS prompt on your local
computer won't always work. This returns with the IP of your
machine, not the network. This is the IP that has
been assigned to you by your router or hub. Besides, who
wants to type into an archaic DOS prompt anyway! That's SO
last millennium!
If you want to check your external IP - the one used
to connect to your local network to the internet - then you need
to access your router settings, usually accessed by typing
your router's address into your browser.
So you can go find the manual, or the notes you took when you set this all up - yeah right!
Just bookmark this site! You'll always be able to get your current external IP address by using whatsmyrealip.com
How all this came about:
I was working away from my home one day, and needed to
access my home PC. I had the wife go through the usual
painstaking processes of finding my external IP address.
Eventually we were doing this often, so I built this site
for us to use. I told a few friends, and it's grown into a
useful tool used by thousands every day!
If you find it useful, would you consider linking to us? You
can get the code here. Thanks for stopping by!