Any computer or other technological device that is publicly connected to the Internet is given a unique number called an IP (Internet Protocol) address. IP addresses contain four groups of numbers that are separated with periods, and each number group can feature number(s) that range anywhere from 0 - 255. An example of an IP address is 1.123.13.231.

Due to the fact that IP numbers are generally assigned to ISP (Internet Service Providers) in region-based blocks, the Internet protocol address tends to be used for the purpose of identifying the country or region where the associated computer is connecting to the World Wide Web. Additionally, a computer user's IP can also be traced to reveal their general location.

Therefore, you can actually trace a computer consumer's IP address to find out certain details about them, including their ISP location. Why would you want to trace someone's IP? This can be very useful if you receive what you believe to be spam or fake emails, and would like to find out where these messages came from.

To trace an IP, all you need to do is enter it into the query box on a website that provides this tracking service. Sounds simple enough, but how do you obtain the IP address you need? All you have to do is access the email message headers associated with the electronic message you would like to investigate, as the senders IP will be listed among the details within the headers. Essentially what you are looking for is the original IP address enclosed in square brackets, which should be listed near the senders email address. Do not select the first IP you see, as there are additional IP addresses listed in headers because each server has its own.

What can an IP Trace or IP lookup find? Details that you may learn about the computer from its IP address include:

- Hostname

- Geographic location details (I.E. country, state/region, city, latitude, longitude and phone area code)

- ISP - The name of the internet service provider

- Location specific map (Map that points out where the ISP the computer is using is located)

The geographic information that is found in an IP trace is from a publicly available geolocation database. Thus, you need to keep in mind that the results you will be given will not be 100% accurate in regard to providing the exact location of an IP address. To give you an idea of how accurate an IP tracer is, before you lookup the IP of the owner of an email address, conduct a search on your own.