An Internet Protocol, most commonly known as IP, Address is a string of digits that identifies your computer. Imagine it to be much like your driver’s license – it identifies your computer to the internet and provides basic information about your connection and its location.

All computers have a specific IP address. The 192.168.1.1 is one of them and is set between the 192.168.0.0 and 192.168.255.255 lines.

A casual computer user may not see the need to understand things like 192.168.2.1. But if you use broadband routers, knowing these facts may be crucial particularly when it comes to troubleshooting.

You might have called your ISP’s tech support and got help over the phone at one time or another. If you have done this a few times, one time or another they would have open a command prompt and type a series of numbers like 127.0.0.1. After which you’ll find a bunch of results, which most likely you wouldn’t have understood then since your mind was on your Internet connection and not on the troubleshooting being done.

There are various reasons why people would want to change IP Addresses. It may be used to fix a network related issue. Some software may require one to have their IP addresses within a specific range of numbers. Others might want to change it for security purposes. Sometimes changing it would be required to avoid hostile software like viruses and spyware. Whatever reason, someone has already asked how can I change my IP address?

Even a casual computer user will come across 192.168.0.1 at some point. For the typical user, knowing something about it may prove helpful. For network administrators, comprehension is a must.