Command to detect your IP address!

This article sheds light on commands to detect one's IP address and how these commands differ on different versions of Windows. IP address (IP for Internet Protocol) is the numerical identification of the computer. It is important for a user to know the IP address of the machine that he is working on. In this article, you can find the requisite commands to detect your IP address be it for Windows 2000/XP/Vista or the older versions: Windows 95 and Windows 98 along with the ones for Linux. It also points out why certain sites show a different IP address and what you should do when faced with such a situation.

• Public IP Address and Private IP
• Determine your private IP Address
  • Command for Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
  • Command for Windows 95/98
  • Command for Linux
• The public IP address
• Why do some sites m'affichent a different IP address
• See also: Cmd ip address

Public IP Address and Private IP

IP address (Internet Protocol) is a numerical identification to detect your computer in a network. It is used to communicate between nodes in a computer network. 
When you connect to the Internet through an ADSL modem, it has two network interfaces:

• A private interface, used to network computers connected to the router; their IP address is typically in the range 192.168.0.* or 192.168.1.*, the router will connect to the gateway with an IP address in the range of 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. A command via the computer will allow you to determine the private IP address that has been assigned to your router.
• Otherwise, simply log onto specialized sites to access this particular information.

Determine your private IP Address

Command for Windows 2000 / XP / Vista

• Go to Start Menu and select Run. Then, type the following command:

  • cmd /k ipconfig /all

• Your IP address will be displayed in an open window after a few seconds.

Command for Windows 95/98

• Go to Start Menu and select Run. Type the following command:

  • winipcfg

Command for Linux

• Type this command in a console as root:

  • ifconfig

• in a console as user

  • /sbin/ifconfig

The public IP address

• You can go to the following site:
  • whatismyip

Why do some sites m'affichent a different IP address

• ipconfig and sites such as www.whatismyip.com can sometimes give a different IP address.
• If you are in this case, this means that:
• Either you have not watched the right interface (you can have multiple IP addresses corresponding to multiple modems/NIC/WiFi). Use (ipconfig / all) to see all interfaces.
• Either you are behind a router, a gateway or proxy. The router performs address translation between the Internet and your LAN (NAT).
• In this case refer to these tips:
  • Detect public IP
  • Retrieve your public IP
• whatismyip sees only the Internet address of the router and ipconfig only sees the address of your computer.

Thanks to Jeff for the further informations.