An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a series of numbers that identifies you on the internet. Your IP address might always be the same (a static IP address) or might change every few days (a dynamic IP address) depending on who provides your internet access, and it might be the same for all computers on your network, or only you.
If you're connecting to the internet at home or in an office, your public IP address is probably the numeric address of your router and it will be shared with everyone else using the same connection.
If you are having a problem with connecting to your website or email, we'll usually ask you for your IP address. The easiest way to find it is to ask Google - see link below.
It's important to note that your IP address will be different depending on where you access the internet from, so if you're having problems connecting from home but it's fine from your office, then you'll need to click that link from your computer at home.
Your IP address is a series of four numbers with dots between them, for example, 123.456.789.12 or 1.2.3.4.
The most common cause of problems connecting is an incorrect password stored in your email programme. After a certain number of incorrect attempts to check your email, the server will block your IP address from accessing it.
Once you give us your IP address we can remove the block, but it's important that you fix the incorrect password too. This is especially important if you have a dynamic IP address because otherwise you might get blocked again right away!
For explanations about other technobabble, internet jargon, abbreviations and acronyms read our web design glossary.