This is a well-known fact that each computer device comes with a unique IP address. The address enables the server to identify and locate the devices on the network. Likewise, each domain name also has a unique IP address.

An IP address makes a computer device and domain name traceable. This means that if you know the IP address, then you can easily track the details of its owner. Is it that easy to do? Probably not, but you can learn how to get the best out of it.

Anyhow, before moving ahead to find out how to get the details of any IP address owner, you must know the basics of the internet protocol address.

Let's discuss what an internet protocol address is and how IP address lookup can help to track the WHOIS information of any allocated IP.

What Is an IP Address?

The internet protocol is a unique identifier of each electronic device connected to the network.

The IP address comprises a series of numbers separated by periods. It consists of four digits. For example, 192.158.1.38 is an IP address with four numbers. There are 255 numbers in the set. Each of them can range from 0 to 255. It means that the full range of IP addresses ranges from 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.

It is important to note that IP addresses are not randomly assigned. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a division of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which allocates a unique IP address to each network device and domain name.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit corporation established in 1998 to maintain the Internet's security and make it more usable for all. Domains are registered on the internet through domain name registrars, who pay a small fee to ICANN to register them.

IP Address Format

The most common format of an IP address, IPv4, comprises four numbers separated by periods, with each number ranging from zero to 255. The IPv4 address of my computer, for example, is 71.232.101.120.

A more recent format, IPv6, comprises eight sets of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons. Hexadecimal digits have the following values: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, a, b, c, d, e, f. The IP address of my computer is 2601:19b:700:b70:1106:49ab:ac46:2e12. Most computers today have both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address.

The IPv6 format is more complex than IPv4. In the IPv4 format, there were approximately 4.3 billion unique IP addresses. There are 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 IP addresses that can be created with IPv6.

Where Can I Find My IP Address?

The process of finding the IP address of your devices, such as your personal computer or smartphone, will vary depending on the device you are using.

You can quickly find your IP address by searching on Google, "What is my IP address?". Once you enter this query, the IP address of the device will appear as the first result.

There are other ways to manually carry out an IP address lookup which include:

Find IP Address on Windows

1. If you are using Wi-Fi connectivity, select Start > Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi, and select the Wi-Fi network you are connected to
2. Select Start > Settings > Network & internet > Ethernet if you are using an Ethernet connection.
3. The IP address will be displayed under Properties, next to the IPv4 address.

Find IP Address on Mac Devices

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Click on Network
3. On the list on the left, select your current connection
4. In the right-hand panel, you will see your IP address

Can You Track IP Address Owners?

Now, you have a lot of information related to IP addresses. So, we can proceed to the main part, where you will learn how a quick IP address lookup can help to track the details of the person who hosts/owns an IP address.

There are many tools available on the internet that let you find the contact information of the IP address owner along with other important details.

In simple terms, the IP address lookup to track IP WHOIS information can provide you with the following details:

• Contact information for the owner of the IP address
• An IP address is assigned by the Regional Internet Registry (RIR)
• These are the autonomous system (AS) numbers
• The name of the designated owner, the location, the contact information, and the details of how to report abuse
• There are several IP addresses in the block or blocks assigned to the owner of the IP address you are researching.

Bottom Line

If the IP of a device or domain is known, it can be used to track the WHOIS details of the person who owns the IP address. A quick IP address lookup can track the contact information, RIR address, AS numbers, and probably the exact location of the IP owner.