Top line answer: Disconnect your router for 30 seconds, and reconnect it.
This will reassign you a new IP address.
What can they do with my IP?
Three words: Not much else.
In 2025, most home routers are built in with significant protections against random attacks. If your home router is configured properly, you really don't have anything to worry about cybersecurity-wise.
The main risk is that grabbing an IP address can give your attacker a general sense of your physical location, but only a general sense. It can give them your city and in some cases a city block, but generally speaking, they can't pick out a specific house or location.
What should I do now?
You can request a new IP address by disconnecting your router for 30 seconds and reconnecting it. This will expire your router's lease on your home's IP address and request a new one.
How did they get my IP address?
For most of the people reading on Cyber Info, I would guess they got your IP address because you clicked an IP grabbing link. Your attacker may or may not be able to tell that it's you clicking that IP address; they may only be able to tell that someone with your IP clicked the link, but not which user you are. Alternatively, you could have installed malware of some kind. If this is the case, disconnect your PC from the internet and run a Windows Defender full scan to purge the malware.
