Local and Public IP Addresses

What is a Local IP Address?

It's technically true that your computer has more than one IP address, depending on where and how you look. For the sake of simplicity, you can think of these addresses like staying in a hotel: 

• When you are in a hotel, you have both a Street Address which belongs to the Hotel (Public IP), and a Room Number (Private IP) which is specific to you while you're there.
  
  
• Your Public IP is the IP Address given to your Modem by your Internet Service Provider, and is uniquein the world 
  • (like "1234 Main St, New York, NY - USA")
    
    
• Your Local IP is the IP Address given to your computer by your router or modem (they are often one and the same), and is not unique 
  • (like "Room 1234") 
  • In your case, the Local IP is given to your computer by your Acumera Firewall.

Can I just Google it?

Well, yes and no. You can Google your Public IP, but you cannot Google your Local IP. 

Here's why: 

Using the above analogy, if you call a restaurant and order food, the restaurant sees the Hotel's caller-ID, but they cannot see your room number. 

Similarly, when you ask Google what your IP address is, Google will see your Public IP. That being said, there is a link in the next section to a web page that may show you your Private IP, depending on your computer. If that doesn't work, don't worry: we have instructions for finding a local IP on Windows and Mac as well.

How do I find my Local IP Address?

• First, try the easy way: Click Here. If you are not able to use the link, follow these steps:
• Windows 7, 8, 10:
  1. Press WIN + R at the same time:
     
  2. A box titled "Run" will appear. 
  3. Type "CMD" and press Enter.
  4. You will see a black box with white text. 
  5. Type "IPCONFIG" and press Enter
  6. Look for the entry "IPv4 Address . . . . . . . . ."
  7. Your IP address will most likely look like this: "192.168.xxx.xxx" where the x's represent your unique numbers
  8. Alternatively, you might find an address that looks like this: "10.10.xx.xx"
• MAC OS:
  1. From the Apple menu, pull down “System Preferences”
  2. Click on the “Network” preference pane
  3. Your IP address will be visible on the right hand side.

How do I find my Public IP Address?

• The easiest way is to simply Google it (you can use any search engine). 
• If you're not able to find it that way, you can call your Internet Service Provider or Acumera's Technical Support Team for assistance.