Every network interface on the computer or any networked device has a unique MAC address . These MAC addresses have been pre-set by the manufacturers, but you can still change or ' fake ' it to your liking.
MAC stands for ' media access control ' (control access to the media). In addition, MAC addresses are often referred to as physical addresses or hardware addresses because each MAC address corresponds to a unique hardware device (network card, modem, router, etc.).
Uses of MAC address
In addition to its main purpose is networking, MAC addresses also have the following uses:
- Set static IP address : The router allows you to assign a static IP address to your computer. When a device connects, it will receive a specific IP address if it has a suitable MAC address.
- MAC address filtering : The system only allows connections for devices with specific MAC addresses. But this is only a temporary measure, not an absolute security tool because people can still fake their MAC address to access the system easily.
- MAC Authentication : Some Internet service providers may require devices to have a specific MAC address in order for them to connect to the Internet. Now, the 'strategy' for you is to change the router or MAC address.
- Device identification : Many public WiFi networks often use MAC addresses to identify devices. For example, a WiFi network at the airport can only provide free 30 'usage for each MAC address. After that period of time, you cannot access the WiFi network anymore. At this time, please change the MAC address to be able to continue using (every 30 minutes to change 1 time).
- Device tracking : Because MAC addresses are unique, they can also be used to track other people. As you walk around, your phone will automatically scan nearby WiFi networks and also display its MAC address. A company called Renew London has used trash bins located throughout London to track the movement of people through their MAC addresses. However, Apple's iOS 8 will effectively solve this problem by using a random MAC address when scanning WiFi networks, so it can prevent the tracking of devices. on.
Remember that each network interface will have a different MAC address. So with a regular laptop that has both a WiFi radio and a wired Ethernet port, or has a wired and wireless network interface, each has a separate MAC address.
Change the MAC address in Windows
Most network cards allow you to customize the MAC address in the configuration settings of the Device Maganer tool, but there are some network drivers that do not support this feature.
First, on Windows 8.1 , press the Windows + X button and click Device Manager . If you're using Windows 7 , click the Windows button , then type 'Device Manager' and click on the search results shown on the left.
Under Network Adapters , locate the network interfaces you want to change, then right-click on it and select Properties .
Next, click on Advanced and select Network Address in the list. If you do not see it in the list, then your network driver is not supported.
You enable the Value feature , then type in the MAC address box you want (the name must meet the conditions: no delimiters, dashes or colons). Finally click OK is finished.
Change the MAC address in Linux
Modern Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, often use the Network Manager tool - allowing you to spoof any MAC address.
To do that, first click on the network icon on the control panel, select Edit Connection . Then select the network connection you want to change and click Edit . In the Ethernet tap , under ' Cloned MAC address ', enter your new MAC address and remember to save the changes after you're done.
You can refer to a more classic way is to use the following command to change the address. In particular remember to replace ' eth0 ' with the network interface name you want to change and replace ' xx: xx: .' with the new address you like.
sudo ifconfig eth0 down
sudo ifconfig eth0 hw ether xx: xx: xx: xx: xx: xx
sudo ifconfig eth0 up
You can also add the hwaddress ether line [MAC address] to /etc/network/interfaces.d/ or / etc / network / interfaces to retain this change (ie automatically change the MAC address. every time it boots up)
Change the MAC address in Mac OS X
On the System Preferences window of Mac OS X always shows the MAC address of each network interface but doesn't allow you to change it.
Therefore, you can only do that using the command line.
First, open a Terminal window (press Ctrl + Space , type 'Terminal ' and press Enter ). Then run the following command, replace ' en0 ' with the network interface name you want to change and replace ' xx: xx: .' with your own MAC address.
sudo ifconfig en0 xx: xx: xx: xx: xx: xx
The network interface will generally be in either of the en0 or en1 form depending on whether you want to configure the WiFi or Ethernet interface . You can run the ifconfig command if you're unsure or don't remember the network interface name you want to change.
Like Linux, this change is temporary and it will return to its default form upon reboot. Therefore, you will need a script if you want to maintain that changed MAC address.
You can check if the change takes effect by running this command:
+ In Windows : run the command ipconfig / all in the Command Prompt window
+ In Linux and Mac OS X : run ifconfig command
After running, it will show details of network connections as well as check the MAC address of the interface.
In case you want to change the MAC address on the router, you can find this option in the router's web interface.