**How to Find an IP Address**

Find Your IP Address on Windows with a Command Prompt Find Your IP Address on Windows without a Command Prompt Find Your IP Address on MAC OS X 10.5 and later Find Your IP Address on MAC OS X 10.4Find Your IP Address on Linux Find Another IP Address using Windows Find Another IP Address using Mac or Other UNIX-Based OS.

 

Finding an IP address is a fairly simple matter, but the steps vary depending on the operating system you use. There are also different steps you need to follow when finding your own IP address versus the IP address of another computer or website. Keep reading to learn more about how to find IP addresses.

Method 1 of 7:

Find Your IP Address on Windows with a Command Prompt

    1.   Open "Run" from the "Start" menu. The "Run" feature allows you to open various programs on your computer.

On Windows 8, open "Run" by typing the word "run" on your "Start" tile panel. Your computer should automatically do a search, and "Run" should appear as one of the results under "Apps."

Alternatively, open "Run" on Windows 8 by pressing the "Windows" key and "R" key on your keyboard at the same time.    On earlier additions of Windows, including Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, open "Run" by clicking on "Start" or the "Start" window icon in the lower left corner of the screen. From there, click directly on "Run."

    2. Type "cmd" and click "OK." The command prompt should pop up in a new window.

 Note that you can also hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard instead of clicking on "OK."

    3. Enter "ipconfig" into the command prompt. Hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard to run your IP configuration.

This will display multiple lines of information, and your IP address will be included and labeled. For Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, it will be labeled as "IPv4 address." For Windows XP, it will be labeled as "IP address."

The address itself will consist of a series of number in the pattern "xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx"

Method 2 of 7:

 Find Your IP Address on Windows without a Command Prompt

    1. Open the "Network and Sharing Center." This can be done from the "Network" connection area.

 For Windows 7, click on the network connection icon in the notification area. Select "Open Network and Sharing Center" from the options that appear.

For Windows Vista, open your "Start" menu using the button in the lower left corner of your screen. Right-click on the word "Network," the click on the word "Properties" from the resulting pop-up menu to open the "Network and Sharing Center."

For Windows XP, open your "Start" menu by clicking on the button in the lower left corner of your screen. Right-click on "My Network Places" and select "Properties" from the resulting pop-up menu.

    2. View the IP address of a wired connection. You can do this by selecting the "Local Area Connection" option.

        For Windows 7, simply click on "Local Area Connection."

        For Windows Vista, click on "View Status," which should be  

located to the right of "Local Area Connection."

        For Windows XP, double-click on "Local Area Connection."

    3. View the IP address of a wireless adapter. This can be done through the "Wireless Network Connection" option.

        For Windows 7, click on "Wireless Network Connection (Network Name)."

        For Windows Vista, click on "View Status," located to the right of "Wireless Network Connection."

        For Windows XP, double-click on "Wireless Network Connection."

    4. Display the details. Click on the "Details..." button to display the IP address.

Note that you will need to navigate to the "Support" tab first if using Windows XP.

Your IP address should appear next to "IPb4 Address" with Windows 7 or Windows Vista. It should be labeled as "IP Address" for Windows XP.

Method 3 of 7:

 Find Your IP Address on MAC OS X 10.5 and later

    1. Select "System Preferences." You can find this option by opening the "Apple" menu.

        Open the "Apple" menu by clicking on the apple-shaped icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

        "System Preferences" should be located near the top of the second divided section of the drop-down menu.

    2. Select "Network." This option can be located under the "View" menu of the "System Preferences" box.

        Alternatively, you can open "Network" by clicking on the icon under the "Internet & Wireless" section of your "System Preferences" box.

    3. Click on a network port to view your IP address. Click on the port you are currently connected to, whether that port is your Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or AirPort.

Your IP address should appear under the label "Status."

Method 4 of 7: 

Find Your IP Address on MAC OS X 10.4

    1. Go to your "Network Preferences." You need to access this option from the "Apple" menu.

        Open the "Apple" menu by clicking on the apple-shaped icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

        Select "Location" from the drop-down menu.

        From the options available under "Location," click on "Network Preferences."

    2. Show your "Network Status." Click on "Network Status" next to the "Show:" label in your Network Preferences box.

        Your current network status and IP address should then be displayed.

Method 5 of 7: 

Find Your IP Address on Linux

    1. Open the UNIX shell. Open the shell while your graphical desktop is displayed by using the "Terminal" application.

        From your Main Menu, select "System Tools."

        From "System Tools," select "Terminal." A command line interface should appear.

    2. Type in "ifconfig." Enter the "ifconfig" command in the terminal and hit "Enter" on your keyboard the input the command.

        Note that you can only use the "ifconfig" command if you have a superuser account.

    3. Locate your IP address. Your computer's IP address should be displayed next to "inet addr:"

The other information that pops up will be a list of all your network interfaces.

Method 6 of 7:

 Find Another IP Address using Windows

    1. Start the "Run" utility. "Run" can be accessed through your "Start" menu.

On Windows 8, open "Run" by typing "run" on your "Start" panel. Your computer should automatically perform a search. Look for "Run" under the results for "Apps."

 Alternatively, open "Run" on Windows 8 by holding down the "Windows" key and "R" key on your keyboard at the same time.

 For Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, open "Run" by clicking on "Start" or the window-shaped icon in the lower left corner of the screen. From there, click directly on the word "Run."

    2. Type "cmd" and click "OK" to open the command prompt. The prompt should open in a new window.

        You can also hit the "Enter" key on your keyboard instead of clicking on the "OK" button.

    3. Ping the computer you want to locate. Type the "ping" command directly into the command prompt.

Note that you will need the full computer name or domain name of the computer you are attempting to ping. Use a computer name to ping another computer on your network or a domain name to look up the IP address of a website.

        To enter the ping command for Windows XP, type: ping [Full Computer Name or Domain name

        For example: ping google.com

        To enter the ping command for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8, type: ping -4 [Full Computer Name or Domain Name]

        For example: ping -4 google.com

    4.Locate the IP Address. The IP address should appear on the same line of the ping command in brackets.

The IP address will be formatted along the lines of xxx.xxx.xxx.x

Method 7 of 7:

 Find Another IP Address using Mac or Other UNIX-Based OS

1. Open the "Terminal." This feature is similar to the Windows command prompt and allows you to run a variety of basic commands.

The Mac OS and Linux OS both run on a UNIX core.

Access the Terminal through the Mac OS by navigating to your "Applications" folder. From there, open "Utilities," then double-click on "Terminal."

        Access the Terminal through Linux by selecting "System Tools" from your Main Menu. Within the "System Tools," select "Terminal" to open it. You could also open the Terminal by right-clicking on your desktop and selecting "Open Terminal" from the pop-up menu.

2. Enter the "ping" command. Type the "ping" command into the Terminal followed by the full name of the computer or the domain name of the website for which you want to find the IP address.

        Type: ping [Computer or Domain Name]

        For example: ping google.com

3. Locate the IP address. The IP address should appear in parentheses or brackets directly after the ping command, on the same line.

4. Alternative: using the "arp" command:

 Enter the "arp" command: "arp -a | grep [MAC]"

 For example: arp -a | grep [2c:42:fe:0c:c8:c3]

 Locate the IP address. The IP address should appear directly after the arp command.