Most of the time I work at home on a Macintosh laptop computer. Usually I connect my mac to a LAN (Local Area Network) via built-in Ethernet and a router for internet connectivity. When I'm on the road, I usually take advantage of my mac's built-in AirPort capabilities and go wireless using any available free WiFi network. Each time I access the Internet from a different location, or using a different method, my IP (Internet Protocol address) also changes.

An IP is a unique address used by certain electronic devices (such as routers and computers and printers) to identify and communicate with each other over a computer network. Other computers contact you through your IP address.

An example of an IP (also known as a "computer address") is: 71.243.46.226 which happens to be my IP address at the moment.

Sometimes it is handy to know your IP. An example would be if you are doing teleconferencing: other people can call you up if they first know your IP.

How then, do you find the IP address of your MAC computer?

Assuming you are already connected to the Internet, the fastest way to find your IP on ANY computer is to point your web browser to this website:
http://whatismyipaddress.com/
You'll find your IP address boldly displayed on the web page. It's that easy!

Other than that, how to look up your IP address would depend on what operating system you are using:

for MacOS X
1) Open the System Preferences in Mac OS X
2) In the resulting window, click the Network icon.
3) In the Network window select the relevant location
IP Address will be shown

for "Classic" Macintosh MacOS 7.x - Mac OS 9.x
Computer must have an active Internet connection
1) Go to the Apple menu by clicking the Apple picture icon at the top left of your screen
2) Select Control Panels
3) Go to the TCP/IP control panel or MacTCP control panel depending on operating system
4) Choose "File" from the top of your screen
5) Click "Get Info"

For more information about IP addresses and the role they play in Internet connectivity, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address

Other Resources:

Frequently Asked Questions: IP Addresses
http://www.haxial.com/faq/ipaddress/

Mac OS: How to Get an IP Address for Connecting to the Internet
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106 659

What Is My IP Address? - Lookup IP, Hide IP, Change IP, Trace IP and more...
http://whatismyipaddress.com/

Learn more about this author, Violet Fortune.
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