How to Get a New York IP Address with a VPN

Why should you look into a New York IP address?

First of all, why would you look into getting a New York state IP address? There are several possibilities:

• You may need to access a site which engages ‘geo-blocking’ and requires a New York state IP address, while you happen to be outside of the state;
• You may live in New York, but need access to another New York IP address. For example, the use of a VPN to mask an IP address is a common way to manage your internet privacy. However, at the same time, it is a requirement to access various government services (such as social security benefits) that individuals use a New York state IP address. Protecting anonymity may require accessing a distinct New York state IP address.

We explain the key mechanisms that might be used to access a New York state IP Address: Proxies, Tor, Home VPN services and Premium VPN services.

How to use a proxy server for a New York state IP address

Proxy servers (or ‘proxies’) are a ‘middleman’ server that mediates between you and the webpage that you seek to access. By using a proxy service, it is the proxy, rather than you, which accesses the eventual destination web address.
Using a proxy is an effective way of masking your internet activity: Only the IP address of the proxy is known.

Proxies vary by ‘protocol’. The main types of protocol include:

• HTTP/S proxies. This protocol means that the proxy only impacts on your web browser activity: Other internet activity is left unaffected;
• SSL (‘Secure Socket Layer’) is HTTP with an additional layer of security added. The additional security certificates ensure that no one can intercept the information during transmission;
• SOCKS/SOCKS5 proxies. This protocol applies extensively to all web traffic, whereas HTTP proxies will only operate in conjunction with HTTP/HTTPS webpages,

Aside from the security protocol used, proxies can be distinguished by the type of server used:

• Datacenter Proxies. These proxies are created in servers dedicated to the task. These servers tend to be fast, have a low ‘ping’ rate, and provide a relatively high level of anonymity;
• Residential proxies. These are IP addresses used by individuals in their homes. Usually, the proxy service ‘rents’ these IP addresses off residential internet users.

To use a proxy server, you can either:

• Access the server via proxy provider website, or
• Use a browser extension.

While free and paid versions are available, many report having better experiences with paid proxy provider services.

In order to receive a New York state IP address, you will need to make sure you seek out a proxy that is located in New York State (such as a datacentre proxy server based there).

There are potential disadvantages to using a proxy:

• The proxy service provider may be able to see and monitor your accessing of the proxy site;
• Communications are usually not fully encrypted. In general, proxies only use SSL certificates. While these encrypt data that passes through the servers, hackers and cybercriminals have become skilled at ‘stripping’ these certificates from your connection.

Getting a New York State IP Address via Tor

Tor refers to ‘The Onion router’. It is a system which reroutes your internet traffic through multiple servers that are part of Tor network. Through Tor, your internet activity is passed through various different servers that act as ‘relays’. Eventually, your request passes through an ‘exit node’ and onto your desired destination.

To access Tor, you should download the Tor browser (as pictured below):

The difficulty is, in order to end up with a New York state IP address you will need to ensure that the browser is configured for an exit node based in New York state. This is no easy task and may require manual verification of IP addresses to end up with an eventual New York state-based IP address.

Furthermore, trying to choose a specific exit node can provide visible traces of your activity and counteract any anonymity that was sought via Tor.

How to Use a Virtual Private Network to get a New York State IP Address

In general, VPNs are created by VPN service providers who have a vast network of servers worldwide. Once you are logged into the VPN, the request is mediated through one of those servers before it arrives at the destination website.

This means that your actual IP address is substituted for the new server IP address, with your traffic looking as though it originated from there.
A high-quality VPN service makes it straightforward to choose a New York state IP address.

The benefits of using a VPN include:

• Full encryption which secures the connection between your actual IP address and the VPN server of choice. This means the server cannot see where you have come from. This can be contrasted with a proxy server where that information is usually available to the service provider;
• It can be applied across your internet connection. By contrast proxy servers are usually only accessed via an application, such as a web browser;
• Speed. A quality VPN is generally much faster than either a proxy server or Tor.

Establishing a New York state IP address with a home VPN

Rather than using a VPN service, you could also establish a New York state IP address by setting up your own VPN. There are several ways this can be done:

• Buy a router with a built in VPN. Then, use the web application with the router to activate the VPN;
• Create a dedicated VPN server at home on an old desktop or similar device. Windows has built-in capability to host VPNs, or alternatively, you could download a free third-party VPN server from the internet. The device will need to remain continuously on.

As well as requiring a decent amount of technical know-how to implement securely, the problem with these options is that you need to actually have a physical location in New York state to locate your home VPN server.

A word of warning on New York state IP addresses

New York state IP addresses have been prominent in the news in recent months: Accessing social security benefits to which New York state residents are entitled requires that individuals use a New York state IP address. Otherwise, those individuals risk being blocked from accessing those benefits.

Therefore, it is particularly important that any New York residents with a VPN service installed check that their VPN is set to a New York server before applying or carrying out any activity relating to their benefits.

Conclusion

Using a proxy server or Tor are not reliable mechanisms for getting a New York state IP address. In addition, neither option provides the security and anonymity through encryption that a VPN can provide.

While home-based VPN servers are a possibility, this is no use if you do not have a physical location in New York state (or someone else in the state you can trust to host the server). Therefore, in order to ensure that you have a reliable New York state IP address at all times, we recommend you use a premium VPN service.