I was screen sharing my Xbox and accidentally revealed my IPv4 address to about 18 people. I'm concerned if they can do anything harmful with this information. I can't afford a VPN right now, so what should I do?
4 Answers
You give out your IP every time you browse the web, that's just how the internet works. It's not the magic 'hack code' movies make it out to be. If you just showed your local system's IPv4, it doesn’t harm you. It’s the external IP of your router that's more of a concern, and that changes periodically unless you have a fixed address.
If you shared your internal private IP, it's essentially just your Xbox's local address, which isn't accessible from the outside unless you'd set it up that way. Plus, most consoles like Xbox are pretty well locked down anyways, so there's no need to panic here.
If your IP starts with 10. or 192., you’re generally safe. Those are designed for local use. The movies might make it sound dire, but in reality, they can’t do much with just an IP. The worst they might be able to find is your general location like your city, but that's about it.
Honestly, you shouldn't be too worried. Just having someone's IP address isn't that useful for any average person. Websites you visit automatically see your IP, so it’s really no secret. The only risk is if someone tries to find open ports on your router, but most modern routers are pretty secure against that. If you accidentally showed your local IP (like the one for your PC), it’s even less of a concern since it's only valid on your network.
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