Ever needed to check your IP (Internet Protocol) address? It's not something you should fool around with, but it doesn't hurt to look. And you may need to know the IP if you need to connect to another system.

There are different methods to use to check your IP address, depending on the operating system you use. Using Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows ME, click Start, Run and type winipcfg. What you will see is the following:

It's possible that you may have more than one modem in your computer. For example if you have a regular modem and a cable/dsl modem, then all of them will be listed. You can change which one you are seeing by clicking the arrow next to the drop down box. While you may have more than one listed, it's unlikely that more than one will have an address listed. You can also click More Info to get additional settings for your system, such as your DNS server.

If you are using Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you can access you IP address by clicking Start, then Run and typing cmd. This will bring up the Command Prompt window, and you must now type ipconfig. This will give you a listing of all the same information given by winipcfg, but it doesn't have a graphical interface. To get additional information, you must type ipconfig /all.

Linux users can access their IP information by typing ifconfig at the command prompt.

While an in-depth explanation of how IP addressing works is beyond the scope of this tutorial, you should be aware that not all IP addresses are considered valid on the Internet. Any address that matches any one of the following means you are on a network, and that your address is not considered "real." You may need to find the address for your network in order to connect.

• 10.*.*.*
• 176.16.*.* - 176.31.*.*
• 192.168.*.*