How to Prevent an IP Leak

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Proxy 101

Proxies allow us to secure information so that the information sent over the internet can be masked and therefore hide our presence, geolocation, and data from unwanted eyes, of course mainly for privacy and security reasons.

However there are various approaches to the same solution, yet at times are a little bit more specific depending on the use case of yours. At times, a VPN can serve as better than a proxy-server, at times, on the contrary, a VPN will win an edge over proxies. Read more about the difference between those two, since as you know an informed warrior is an armed warrior (or at least an armed cyber-ninja like you and me).

This article is aimed to inform you about the often occurring issue of IP leakages, therefore we are willing to make it as accessible and understandable as possible to indicate the possible scenarios where IPs may leak and of course to prevent them.

Do not forget, even though we are a proxy focused company, we also offer VPN solutions for your day to day business and individual tasks.

What is an IP leak and what are the potential risks?

If this is your first contact with internet security, let us elaborate from the very basics. Your IP address identifies your computer on the internet, you can compare it to a physical address of 333 Wall-Street, NY, yet unlike our physical addresses it is represented in a way, other computers can understand. 

Typically VPN or proxy-server are supposed to hide your IP address, but what if it’s not doing its job properly and exposes your real IP address. In case we face this kind of nuance then there are some other problems you can face.

Privacy risks

Whenever your IP address is exposed, it can reveal quite a few things and essential pieces of information about you. Foremost, other users can figure out your locations. In case someone is looking for you, your IP address is certainly a good place to start with.

Then there is your browser history, recorded on most DNS servers. The key variable in this equation remains, that most (if not all) of your browsing information can be used by government officials, marketers or hackers, which of course you would like to prevent from happening. This browsing history at the same time, may reveal some of your sensitive, personal account information. 
At times someone knows your IP address, browsing history, account information and location, mostly the equation is complete and they can figure out your personal identity. At Proxy-Cheap we of course do not log or disclose any of your information to prevent this kind of nuances. There are always additional encrypted layers that protect the data that is being exchanged between you and proxy-server or VPN, therefore even in case your data is being intercepted by malicious users, they will find nothing but a bunch of junk. We will also explain how DNS servers operate further in this article.

Convenience issues

One more issue that can arise from a leaked IP address directly impacts our convenience by affecting your ability to access certain websites in targeted geographic locations that impose restrictions on you. In plain words, geo-restricted content. Various content providers only allow people from certain countries to access their carefully crafted content, therefore if your VPN or proxy-server is not doing its job at masking your IP correctly, you will immediately suffer from an inability to access the content of choice. This, of course, is very disappointing, leaving you frustrated whenever you have thoroughly planned a session of Netflix & Chill and now a “This content is not accessible in your country or region” error pops up. 

Thankfully to services like IPLEAK we can easily test our VPN or proxy-server and notice whether some of the information is being leaked. At times even “what is my IP” on Google can do the job, yet we prefer to take a little bit more advanced approach of IPLEAK since it also delivers us more information. 
Before checking your IP, first, turn off your VPN/proxy – check the IP that you Internet Provider has assigned. Then turn one of the tools online and do the same drill again. This way you will be sure to notice the difference amongst them as well as information on leakages provided by IPLEAK.

Check your WebRTC leak

There is another element that plays quite a role in the equation of leaking. It’s called Web-RTC (Web Real-Time Communication) leak.

WebRTC allows direct, real-time communication with a browser, which enables applications such as Slack or various types of push notifications to update you as soon as events occur.
Sounds annoying, doesn’t it? 

This is one of the most convenient options, yet it comes with a drastic downside. WebRTC often can give away your real address by default, even if VPN or proxy-server is active. WebRTC protocol does this simply because it was designed this way and even the best VPN can’t necessarily protect you.

To prevent such an issue, it remains extremely important that you take the necessary steps to prevent your browser that has WebRTC by default from leaking your IP address.
In order to do so, you need to search on Google: How to turn off WebRTC in (your favorite browser), or perhaps check extensions and install a WebRTC blocking plugin like WebRTC Network Limiter for Chrome that will block the access. 

Important to keep in mind that disabling WebRTC may cause some of the websites like Google Hangouts to stop working properly, therefore please consider enabling it, just in case you have an important call.

How does DNS work?

DNS (Domain Name System) is one of those funny players that act as a translator between human-readable names and IP addresses that computers can understand. A proper example would be, a website might have a domain name and IP address that looks something like this: 

Domain name: funnyplayer.com

IP Address: 182.56.23.92

When you want to access funnyplayer.com on any of your browsers, you simply type that into the search/URL bar and here you are. In the meantime, the computer connects to the most convenient DNS server (usually your ISP) to get the IP address of the server where the website is hosted.

After your browser has obtained the IP address of the website’s server, it immediately makes a request for the information that you are looking for. How tough it wouldn’t sound, everything happens in milliseconds thankfully to our modern network-infrastructure. Sadly, most DNS servers do not care about your privacy and log all requests that come through the server, leaving you vulnerable in the near future.

Whenever you use Proxy-Cheap proxies or VPN, you will use our private DNS server, over a fully encrypted tunnel so that your privacy and security remain fully intact. None of your browsing information nor data will be logged, directly boosting your anonymity. In case you choose not to use a VPN or a proxy server, you end up leaving yourself vulnerable, without even knowing who and when will have access to your precious data. 

Conclusion.

To ensure that none of your data is being tracked, abused or simply collected, we must protect ourselves with a VPN or a proxy server, therefore to cover our baseline we must be sure that even if we use them, nothing is simply leaking.

To prevent them, make sure at all times to disable the following tools:

  • WebRTC
  • Flash
  • Javascript
  • Java
  • ActiveX
  • Push Notifications

This way  you will be assured of proper, anonymous browsing all the way.

Proxy-Cheap wishes you to take care of your privacy and safety. Do not forget, all of the data  you generate is value and can be considered to be an asset. There is a reason for it being heavily collected by 101 services online. 

Take care.

Augustas Frost

Support Manager

Augustas Frost is a valued contributor at Proxy-Cheap, specializing in proxy-related content. With a knack for simplifying complex topics, he's your go-to source for understanding the world of proxies.
Outside his work, Augustas explores the latest tech gadgets and embarking on hiking adventures.

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