Does that mean just by going out into the hypergrid, other people will know my IP address? If so, is there any way to hide that?
Yes, there is a way to change it , when you make use of a free dns Hosting service.
Once you got a account on such DNS hoster you can replace the ip adresses in the configuration ini files from your simulator
with that new string. And let's say you made a account somewhere named BlueoceanGrid , then you could end up with a name
like Chimera
Ferret@BlueoceanGrid.myfreedns.net:9000, or with Chimera
Ferret@BlueoceanGrid.mywire.org:9000 ,
wich will be your nametag above your avatar once you TP over to the hypergrid.
When your internet connection isn't a static one , so that you ISP gives you quite often a new dynamic IP adress, then you probably
will want to use such service anyway. Otherwise , after every external Ip adress change you would have to edit some ini files before
starting up your simulator, by using a dns account you won't have that problem.