How to Hide Your Device on WiFi [Device IP Spoofing]
Hide your device's IP on risky public networks with VPN anonymity
- Public WiFi hotspots can be dangerous because anyone can connect and intercept data.
- To protect yourself against data theft and to keep your browsing private, you may want to hide your IP.
- Although you can do it manually, we recommend using a VPN, as it's quicker and simpler.
- Check out our guide to learn how you can configure a VPN on a Wi-Fi network.
Public WiFi networks are the sirens of modern technology. They’ll bait you with their beautiful song that sings free internet, and before you know it, your ship will become a wreck. This is why you should hide your device IP on WiFi networks.
Many people are not aware of the real dangers of public WiFi hotspots. As long as you’re using your own WiFi network at home, you’re more or less safe.
But using a public WiFi network leaves you completely vulnerable to various attacks, hackers, and other shady things.
That doesn’t mean you should avoid public networks by any means. And that’s probably impossible in some situations.
But, you’ll need to take some security measures to keep your data, privacy and your whole online persona safe while using an open network.
The best security measure you can take when connecting to a public WiFi network is changing your IP address.
And I’ll now explain to you why I think changing your IP address is the best precaution you can take, and, of course, how to do it.
Can you hide a device on a network?
Indeed, you can. It’s possible to hide your device on a network for both private and public networks.
This method of protecting your PC from dangerous online attacks is useful, especially on public Wi-Fi because of potentially unprotected networks.
Hence, you have the necessary tools for hiding your device from any network by changing your network settings only using Windows Control Panel.
How do I hide my device details on public WiFI?
Hide your device IP on WiFi networks with a VPN
When you connect to a VPN, you create a virtual tunnel that not only encrypts your data but also uses the IP address of the VPN server. So, you’ll solve both problems of open WiFi networks with just one application.
Using a VPN service is very easy and straightforward. You basically need to install the app, connect it to the internet, and that’s it.
If you want to find out more about the way both IP addresses and VPN work, check out our article about hiding your IP address when browsing the internet.
There are dozens of VPN services out there, and just about any can get the job done. But if you want to be more secure, you should invest in a premium option.
We recommend ExpressVPN because it offers everything you need to browse the internet securely when connected to a public WiFi network, and much more.
It allows you to connect to a secure server and take on a different IP address. This means that any website you visit will not see your IP address, but the server’s IP address.
Additionally, you can redirect your VPN connection through an additional location for even better protection.
It also gives you control over which apps you want to use with the VPN. You can have your entire traffic encrypted and routed through the secure VPN tunnel, or you set up certain apps to either always use the VPN or always bypass it.
On top of keeping your data safe, using a VPN can unlock geo-restricted services like streaming platforms.
For instance, if you’re traveling outside the US and you want to watch a show on HBO Now, you can connect to a US server and start watching from anywhere in the world.
If you don’t know how to change your IP address, just stick with me. The explanation is down below.
This is how to change your IP address from any network using a VPN:
- Download ExpressVPN software.
- Install it on your PC.
- Open it and choose another server location.
- Connect to any servers you prefer to change your real IP address.
- Start browsing with another IP address from a different location.
That being said, hiding your IP address it’s much more simple with effective VPN support and high server coverage worldwide.
ExpressVPN
Consider this privacy software to hide your IP each time with various server locations from 94 regions.Dangers of open WiFi networks
Let’s first clarify why should you be cautious when accessing public WiFi networks.
Open WiFi networks have absolutely zero security, and all the data you’re sending to the internet is completely unencrypted.
That means particularly anyone connected to the same network can gain access to your personal data. So, one doesn’t even need to be a hacker to break into your computer.
Of course, if you’re dealing with a hacker, things are much worse. Because the attacker has a clear path to your data, which can include all your passwords, bank accounts, cloud data, work data, and just about anything you do when browsing the internet.
There are even scenarios when hackers purposely create a fake open Wifi network. If you connect to such a network, you’re done. It will be even easier for a hacker to access all your data or even plant some malware.
What allows all of this to happen, besides your data being completely unencrypted, is the IP address. As soon as you connect to a WiFi network, your device gets its IP address. So, the attacker knows your IP address even before you connect.
The best way to trick the Joker is to disguise your IP address. Because if you’re not using the default IP address of the public network, it will be much harder for attackers to track you down.
That’s about it, now you know how to keep yourself out of trouble when connecting to public WiFi networks.
And remember, the Wild Wild West is now on the World Wide Web, and it’s too big of a luxury to go out there unprotected, so make sure you use a good VPN to hide your device IP on WiFi.
