Ipv4 addresses are slowly becoming the thing of the past, and the IPV6 address is the successor. But, the bad news is that the digital world is really not ready for the IPV6 address, just yet. There are a lot of VPN providers that do not provide protection to the users against the IPV6 leaks. So, in order to be safe on the Internet, the best thing that you should do is to disable IPV6, and we’ll tell you why. You will learn much interesting information like what is IPV6, how to disable it, why is it so important, etc.

1. What is IPV6?

Each online connection in the world has a one-of-a-kind numeric identifier that is called an IP ( Internet Protocol) address. Nowadays, the majority of IP addresses on the Internet are using the outdated 32-bit IPV4 address. The thing about the IPV4 addresses is that they’re slowly running out since the IPV4 can only support approximately 4.29 billion different devices. The truth is, the Internet is growing every minute. Since there are PCs, laptops, smartphones, and many other devices connected to the Internet, this is proof that the world simply needs more IP addresses.

Let’s go back in history.  The IETF or the Internet Engineering Task Force predicted that this would happen more than two decades ago. To be more precise, back in 1998. This task force made the IPV6 address. They use 128-bit addressing, which means that they've made somewhere around 340 trillion trillion IPV6 addresses, which is far more IP addresses than what the IPV4 standard could support.

2. Do you have an IPV6 address?

Being able to have an IPV6 address, solely depends on your Internet Service Provider, so remember that. The deployment of this type of IP address is not so fast by ISPs. Although there is a handful of countries where having an IPV6 address is not a rare occurrence. All in all, in 2020, the majority of people don't have an IPV6 address.  But this is going to change in the near future.

If you want to check if you don't have an IPV6 address, a site like ipleak.net is ideal for checking it out. To be clear, if you’re not seeing a long IPV6 address, then you simply don’t have it. But, that doesn’t mean that you wouldn't disable it, especially if you use public Wi-fi connections in cafes, restaurants, hotels, and so on.

3. Why should you disable IPV6?

It’s true that IPV6 is far superior to the IPV4 address. Then, why is it necessary to disable this form of IP address?

It would be wise to disable it because there are many VPN brands that do a tremendous job of routing the IPV4 through their connections. Unfortunately, that is not the case with IPV6 addresses. Because of this, there are many sites on the Internet that could figure out your true IP address. This is called and IPV6 leak, which can do a lot of damage to you. For instance, hackers could use your real IP addresses for criminal purposes, and you definitely don’t want your personal info to get into the wrong hands.

If you disable IPV6 on your operating system, the chance of any leaks from happening is pretty low. Also, you won’t have to pay anything in order to disable it, which is fantastic. The IPV4 is still out there, and many websites on the Internet are supporting it. The IPV6 will be the successor of the IPV4 address, but that won’t happen tomorrow.

So, if you want to be safe while you’re surfing the web with a VPN connection, it is highly recommended by many tech experts that you should disable IPV6.

4. Who is delaying the adoption of IPV6 addresses?

Mostly it’s because of NAT, which stands for Network address translation. What NAT does, it that basically turns private IP addresses into public Internet Protocol addresses. NAT can be defined as a process, where a firewall is entrusting a public IP address to one or multiple computers in a private network. The purpose of NAT is reducing public IP addresses to a minimum, so a big company or a corporation can be more secured.

If there was no NAT, that would mean that big companies or organizations would use a large number of IPV4 addresses if they were to communicate with anyone outside the company.

5. How to disable IPV6?

We’ll show you how to disable IPV6 on a couple of popular operating systems.

a.) macOS

    • The first thing you should do is to go to „System Preferences“
    • Then, click on „Network“
    • Choose your Internet connection ( Wi-fi in most cases), and click on „Advanced“
    • Click on the TCP/IP tab, choose Off for „Configure IPV6“
    • That's it; you've disabled IPV6 on your macOS device

b.) Windows (the majority of versions)

    • Go to the „search bar“ and search „Control Panel“
    • When you’ve done that, choose the“ Network and Sharing Center“
    • Select „Change Adapter Settings“
    • Do a right-click on your Wi-fi connection
    • Choose „Properties“
    • Scroll down and when you see (TCP/IPV6), uncheck it
    • Click OK, and you've disabled IPV6

c.) Android

    • Go to „System Settings“ and choose „Network & Internet“
    • Tap on „Mobile Network“
    • Choose „Advanced“
    • Afterward, select „Access Point Names“
    • Select the APN that you’re using at the moment
    • Choose APN protocol, and tap on IPV4
    • Click Save, and you’re done

6. When will more IPV6 deployments happen?

We looked up in the Google search what is the adoption percentage of IPV6 addresses. Today, 31.35% of worldwide Internet users have adopted the IPV6 address. In the US, IPV6 addresses are widely deployed. The prices of IPV4 addresses drop day by day, and there are corporations that sell their IPV4 addresses so they could aid the deployment of IPV6. Also, there are more and more companies that charge the usage of IPV4. Meanwhile, they provide IPV6 service, free of charge. An Internet Services Provider called "Mythic Beasts" does that.

Conclusion

There is hope for IPV6 addresses, but for now, Internet users, especially the ones who use VPNs, should disable IPV6 so they could make sure to have secure Internet connections and prevent IPV6 leaks. You can disable IPV6 on many operating systems. Use our examples of how to do it, and disable IPV6 as soon as possible.