Why to hide ip address

See As you all know that an Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.                                                  I can understand if you're a gamer and some little 15 year old punk who gets their milk money taken from them daily now has admin power and bans almost anyone that asks them a question or beats them at their own game. You hide your IP to get back into the game you were playing prior to being banned. Understood.

Otherwise, unless your intents are malicious, I don't understand why it's so important to people.

1.Prevents identity theft – unfortunately we live in an online environment where hackers are a real threat. Good hackers can retrieve alot of personal information from your ip address such as the details of your internet provider, your browser information, even your router information. With this information a hacker can work their way into getting access to your computer and any information you have stored on your computer. A hacker can even “mask” or hide their ip address with yours meaning anything they do online will actually be traced back to you.

2.Prevent spyware/malware/viruses – Hackers can also use your ip address to send spyware/malware or other harmful viruses to your computer which in turn can allow the hacker to have full access to your computer and your personal information stored on your computer.

3.Provides anonymity – hiding your ip provides complete anonymity for anything you do online, it is legal to hide your ip and you are entitled to full privacy online.Provide safe browsing from work computer - if you browse online from your work computer it is important to hide your IP for the reasons stated above, hackers could get hold of your workplace’s IP address and put your workplace in danger of hackers and/or retrieving personal business information.

4.Bypass country restricted websites – some websites restrict their content to only allow access to particular countries. If you hide your personal IP address with an IP from another country you can bypass information that is usually restricted to you.

5.Prevent spam – some websites store your IP address and email when you visit their site and then use this information to spam your computer or email, you can prevent or lower your spam by hiding your IP address.

6.Avoid spam ban – if you frequently comment on forums, blogs, articles particularly for the purpose of building backlinks for a website, forums and blogs can actually place a ban on your IP address for spamming which can ban your IP from all forums/blogs using the same hosting. Having your ban lifted can often be time consuming and in most cases the request to remove a ban is often rejected, avoid your personal IP being banned by hiding your IP.

7.Safer online shopping – if you shop online it’s important to know some websites may not have adequate security on their website and if that website is hacked or accessed your recorded IP address can be retrieved and used to gain access to your computer or monitor your online activities.