The Bottom Line. Not unless the person grabbing your IP address wants to use it to do something illegal – like DDoS-ing you or hacking into your computer. For normal purposes, IP grabbing (and tracking) is generally legal.

How do I trace an IP address?

How to Trace an IP Address Using the Command Prompt
Open the Command Prompt. First, press the Windows key and the “R” button. Ping the Website You Want to Trace. Type “ping” followed by the URL of the website to get its IP.Run the “Tracert” Command on the IP. Put These IPs Into an IP Lookup Tool.

Your IP address gives websites, and people that you have connected with online, more than just a number—more than your IP address. It also gives them the ability to trace that IP address back towards you if they wanted to. To be clear, they can trace it back to your geographical location.

Can police trace IP?

The authorities can only track an IP address to a VPN company, which they’d then have to force to reveal the real IP address from logs, which might not even exist. If the criminal connected to that VPN from another, law enforcement would have to work their way through multiple companies to find the details.

For the most part, an IP address tells you the city, ZIP code, or area code of your ISP, as well as your ISP’s name. What can an IP address tell you? To some degree, your physical location and also the name of your ISP.