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Why is my real IP showing through a VPN?
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Why is my real IP showing through a VPN?
Part of my job is documenting fake investment websites before they disappear or change their content. Their operators sometimes block our company network, so I open the sites through a VPN and a separate privacy browser without logging into any personal accounts. Yesterday I ran a leak check and saw the VPN address along with a second public address that belonged to my internet provider. I never shared my location or gave the site any permissions. Does this mean a website can still see my real connection, and how do I stop that from happening?
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2 Replies
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The IP address isn’t the only clue that can connect a research session to your normal browsing. A synced account, saved login, autofill entry, or familiar set of extensions may reveal more about you than the network connection does. Keep this work inside a dedicated browser with synchronization turned off and no personal accounts added. Use it only for investigations and never reopen those sites from your everyday browser.
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Your VPN may be carrying ordinary page requests while the browser sends peer-to-peer traffic along a different route. Websites use that channel for calls and other real-time features, but a page can access it even when you aren’t making a call. The second public address may be appearing because of a WebRTC leak. Before visiting more of those sites, read what a WebRTC leak is here: https://gologin.com/blog/what-is-a-webrtc-leak/ . Run a WebRTC-specific check with the VPN active and see which public address the browser returns. If it still shows the address from your internet provider, use a browser that routes WebRTC through the protected connection.
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