Is shared hosting of domains on the same IP addresses assigned at random

Question

I have a domain that is hosted on a specific IP address. I am looking after the security of my domain and after doing some initial investigation found some strange (possibly malicious) domains that also resolve to the same IP address. It seems like quite a common IP address though, so wondering why exactly it was assigned to me by my hosting provider.

Just curious about what informs how hosting providers assign IP addresses. Including to better understand how to avoid my domain being co-shared on someone's malicious infrastructure.

Answer 1

When you rent space on a shared hosting, you can't decide who your domain neighbors are. Shared hosting can have hundreds if not thousands of domains hosted on the same IP.

If you are concerned with security, you have a few options. You can "camouflage" your IP by using a proxy server that adds security to your setup. Cloudflare is an example of this.

A better approach, is to rent a VPS hosting. It's pricier, but you get a server just for yourself (no pesky domain neighbors).

The best approach however is to combine both, moving to a VPS + configuring Cloudflare.

Answer 2

Providers often put more than one website (domain) on the same ipaddresses. They don't have enough addresses for each hosted domain. It is normal.

Answer 3

Typical considerations for assigning an IP address to a website by a hosting provider include -

• The geographic location of the website and desired connectivity to other servers will often determine the address range used.
• The loading of other websites on the system and class of service being provided. (It would be common to group and oversubscribe more cheaper customers onto a server then premium ones)
• The functionality of the server(s) - Different servers may have different functionality and each server will have (at least) 1 IP address.

To avoid sharing an IP address you would want to purchase a dedicated VM or server - which will have its own IP address. Of-course, this is often more expensive (less sharing of resources) and harder (more understanding of servers/server maintenance). Even then, a single IP address you do not share in an IP range/neighbourhood with bad players may be sub-optimal.

There is no easy way to absolutely assure your range is clean. Working with smaller, trustworthy providers who know their client base can sometimes help here - but often these providers are using cloud services and can't control the IP ranges.... Also, sometimes sites get hacked, and a good neighbour/website can suddenly look bad.

I came across https://www.ipqualityscore.com/ip-reputation-check - using a site like this may be useful in evaluating your IP addresses reputation.