Best sites to check for IP leaks 2018

The current activities in the cyberspace require everyone surfing the internet to use some kind of cloaking technology. The one available at the moment mostly relies on VPNs and other services which offer anonymity and privacy. But these techniques don’t protect our anonymity at most times due to various leaks such as DNS leaks and IP leaks; both IPv4 and IPv6 leaks.

IP leaks

Most IP leaks are as a result of our web browsers and sometimes the Operating System (OS) as a whole. In browsers, leaks occur due to something called Web Real-Time Communication (Web RTC). Web RTC is an interface or mini-program in our browsers that help in facilitating various functions such as chats, video calls, file sharing and activities which revolving communication. Even if you are protected, attackers can reveal this web RTC to reveal your IP address (leak) and hence perform more complicated attacks. At times, the OS may also leak the IP especially when you are using services that hide your IP. This is possible as the OS can get confused when sending an IPv4 request and will resolve the confusion by using the default DNS provided by your ISP. This usually happens in machines running the Windows OS. Other times for instance when using a VPN, your connection may drop and hence your IP may not be masked anymore. In 2017 we reported about the the Tor IP leak, which you can read more about here.

Nowadays, most VPNs offer protection against leaks that occur during connection drops by using a kill switch. When activated, a kill switch will block any outgoing/incoming traffic until the VPN connection is up and running again. Generally, the VPNs are also equipped with other tools that protect against DNS and IP leaks. But due to the underlying OS, the leaks happen anyway. Most people don’t know if there are IP leaks in their systems but thanks to the following websites, now you can know if your IP is leaking. All you need to do is to know your IP by first doing a test on the sites. Then connect to VPN server and note their IP address. Perform the test again; If the test does not show the VPN IP, then you know that you have an IP leak. I

Doileak

Among the top sites that check for IP Leaks, doileak makes it to the top because of its sleek modern interface and also its suited for everyone. That is, its interface shows you what you need to know and even displays colors that translate to the level of the risk your system might be experiencing. This color coding is displayed for what the site has tested. Using the site is simple as you only need to click on the “Start test” button. Below the button, there’s an option for checking torrents IP.  Also, in every test, there’s a drop-down arrow for more information.

Tests done and information includes IP address, the Operating system in use, Browser used, Connection type, Time zone difference, DNS request source, IPv6 request source, SSL traffic, Web RTC IP leak, Flash, WebGL, Third party cookies and HTTP request leaks.

Whoer

 From its simple interface, whoer strikes the eye as a site for novice users. But look down a little bit, and you will notice an “extended” tab for advanced users. This makes it the best option for people who are interested in more than IP leaks. The interface also sports other features such as web-based proxy, speed test, and a ping tool.

The best thing about this site is that you get the results as soon as the page loads. One thing you notice about this site is that it even has an anonymity rating. Do not let this fool you as this rating varies if you change the DNS to that of another country. Hence if you use a VPN, you might end up having a low rating yet you might be anonymous. Apart from this downside, everything else is good as it’s supposed to.

Here are the basic tests performed: IP geolocation, OS, and Browser in use, DNS servers, Proxy/anonymizer tests, IP blacklist check, Language and Time zone, JavaScript, Flash, Java, WebRTC, ActiveX, Device IP. The Extended version display additional information about the IP, Interactive detection, browser resolution, scripts, plugins, ports and much more.

Although many other sites test for IP leaks, the above are favorites to many as they give more information and also their interface is appealing. They have also been around for quite some time, for best results, always perform the test and compare the two websites as one might lack some crucial information.