What is an IP address? "Internet Protocol"

Just like a phone number, computers on the Internet are identified by unique series of numbers called "IP addresses". Each IP address consists of four numbers separated by three periods; for example, "192.168.56.28". Whenever your computer talks to another computer on the Internet  'such as when you visit a web site'  the name of the other computer must be converted into an IP address before communication can take place.

My IP address is wrong! How can that be?

If your computer is located behind a firewall, the firewall may be hiding your computer's actual IP address from us.

Similarly, if your computer is behind a "proxy server" or "web cache" (i.e., a computer that intercepts requests for web pages in order to speed up frequently-requested pages), the IP address displayed is probably the IP address of the proxy server or web cache and not your computer.

*Note that your computer may be behind a proxy server or web cache without your knowledge! A number of companies and Internet Service Providers use "transparent web caches", which intercept requests for web pages without any special configuration of your computer. you can bypass these and use a proxy you can find a list of proxy servers Here