What is IP Masking?

IP masking is the process of hiding your internet protocol (IP) address.

The most frequently used and common method in IP masking is to use a proxy server.

A proxy server acts as a middle man between the computer and the server.

The computer sends its request to the proxy server, the proxy server transmits this request to the original server.

But the IP address that is passed to the original server is not of the actual computer that requested the session.

This IP address is of the proxy server that was acting as a middle man between the connecting computer and the server.

Proxy servers can serve all kinds of requests like file transfer or other resources that are currently available. The basic purpose of IP masking is to remain anonymous on the internet while you are surfing, communicating, downloading or uploading a file.

This could have many advantages like it can protect you from identity theft, protect your privacy and conceals your location which otherwise could be traced. Following are the most commonly used methods for IP masking.

Web based proxy servers
In web based proxy servers the user gets a field in the proxy website. In that field the user can enter the URL of the website he wishes to visit.

On entering the URL the proxy server requests that page and displays it to the user, but the IP address passed to the actual website server is not of the user but of the proxy server.

Other methods include browser configured proxy server, Installed software proxy servers and VPN (virtual private network) also provide IP masking services.