What Can I Do With Someone’S Mac Address
What can someone do with a MAC address? – The Student …
Could someone who knows the WLAN MAC address of a mobile phone do anything malicious to the device at all? Or any other type of computer/device for that matter?
Nothing address only identifies a network communications device. Some ISPs only allow certain MAC addresses to access their service, and routers can be configured to only allow certain MAC address to connect through it. If you know the MAC address of someone’s device it is possible to ‘spoof’ it and steal someone’s internet connection. The only way you can connect to a computer remotely is using an IP or Internet Protocol address, and even then there are many security features in place to prevent you from doing such.
(Original post by NewFolder)
It is effectively like having the registration of your car. It uniquely identifies hardware on a network, you can change it but there really is no need.
In other words if you joined a wifi network then someone looking for your phone with access to that network could then identify your phone. Worst case scenario is that someone could change their mac address to yours and cleverly intercept your traffic by spoofing.
A criminal could also commit a crime with hardware pretending to be your phone. There are no real implications of this however as I don’t think MAC addresses hold up in court as identification evidence.
(Original post by FranticMind)
Well I knew a fair few people who spoofed their MAC address at uni ie: plugged a switch in, and had other devices running on it
It’s also useful if you’ve managed to get access to someone else’s network, where MAC address filtering has been enabled and you know a MAC address on that network. So you spoof your MAC address for those reasons
I’ve also known people to change MAC addresses on fake dreamboxes, because having more than one device in the house caused communication errors
As others have said there’s not a lot that can be done with a MAC address. It’s only visible on the local network, so if you’ve got a router at home your provider won’t see the MAC address on your PC.
About the only thing that could be done maliciously with a mac address might be to continue using your internet connection on a wifi network that uses web based authentication, but if you’re on such a network there’s likely to be plenty of other worse attacks they could be doing.
Thank you for all your replies.
Would the attacker have to be connected to the same network in order to do this? If so, would it matter whether the network was an open network or encrypted?
Would the attacker have to be connected to the same network in order to do this?
Yes, because MAC addresses are used instead of IP addresses to forward Ethernet frames on the same subnet or physical network segment. They are not passed or known outside of this.
Look up Address Resolution Protocol (ARP).
If so, would it matter whether the network was an open network or encrypted?
Not sure about this and don’t have the time to look. I think encryption would thwart you as it would prevent you joining the network and seeing this traffic… can’t remember.
It really depends on the context. If it was a wifi network and you were connected then you would not need to connect as you can see the MAC addresses of all devices broadcasting.
Encryption works on the data of the packet and so the content would be encrypted but the header would be intact. Meaning it would not matter if you had access to the information anyway.
How about wifi Mac address
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What could someone do if they knew my MAC address?
Assuming someone knows my MAC ddress (someone inside my network or outside), could they exploit it or do some action on my behalf or any action that needs to be considered?
Because I have noticed some people on YouTube hide their MAC address.
techraf9, 03111 gold badges43 silver badges60 bronze badges
asked Jul 19 ’16 at 20:46
0
Your MAC address is your machine’s hardware address. This is mostly only important when an attacker is on the same network as you. At this point an attacker could do deauth attacks or intercept your traffic by posing as the networks router. However if an attacker is on or near your network is is trivial to get your MAC address. You can also change your MAC address as you please. The people trying to hide their MAC address likely do not fully understand networking and erroneously believe it to be a risk.
schroeder♦119k52 gold badges273 silver badges306 bronze badges
answered Jul 19 ’16 at 20:52
MAC addresses aren’t particularly sensitive, and are only available in your local network. The MAC address isn’t available once the traffic leaves your local area network, although if you’re using IPV6 your IP address may be based on the MAC address.
However, sometimes the MAC address is used, and embedded in the meta-data of some versions of Office products. An attacker might be able to identify you as the author of a document if he/she were to know your MAC address. This was true a number of years ago with Microsoft Office. I’m not sure if it’s still the case, or if any other files contain the MAC address as meta-data of the file creator.
answered Jul 19 ’16 at 21:51
Steve SetherSteve Sether21. 4k8 gold badges49 silver badges75 bronze badges
Someone on the same broadcast domain could direct traffic to their machine by announcing their IP address mapped to your MAC address and then forward on the traffic acting as MITM.
Of course, if all your traffic is encrypted, this is somewhat limited, but they still will see meta data e. g. the servers you are communicating with but not the content.
answered Jul 19 ’16 at 21:13
DarraghDarragh1, 0828 silver badges14 bronze badges
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Already in the 1980s it was possible in the WDC-adapter drivers to replace the hardware MAC address with another address. So if I knew your MAC address and I saw that you left the subnet, I could pretend to be you (your computer), run a torrent server, send spam mails, threat mails, start hacking attempts, you name it. And on the next morning, it’s not the milkman who’s knocking on your door.
answered Jul 19 ’16 at 21:14
ott–ott–1281 gold badge1 silver badge9 bronze badges
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Understanding IP and MAC Addresses: What Are They Good …
If the terms “IP address” and “MAC address” send your head into a spin, don’t worry; they’re relatively easy terms to understand. In fact, it’s not too unlike the postal service that you’re already used to!
Let’s explore the difference between a MAC address and an IP address and what each does.
What Is an IP Address?
An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a unique set of numbers that identifies a device connected to the internet. To understand where this address comes from, we have to understand a bit about how the internet works.
In simple terms, the internet consists of separate networks that are connected together. Each network is called an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and if you purchase a service from an ISP, you can connect to that ISP’s network. You can then access the other networks connected to your ISP.
Every ISP has a pool of IP addresses that they manage, and when you purchase its service, you’re assigned an IP address. When data from the internet needs to reach you, the ISP’s network sees that your unique IP address is the destination, then routes that data to you.
There are two kinds of IP addresses:
IPv4, which looks like four sets of numbers separated by periods, each number within the range of 0 to 255.
e. g. 54. 221. 192. 241
IPv6, which looks like eight sets of four-character strings separated by colons, each string containing numbers and lowercase letters.
e. 0:0:0:0:0:ffff:36dd:c0f1
Even though there are 4. 3 billion total possible addresses using IPv4, they’re pretty much all taken and are running out. That’s why the world is migrating to IPv6, of which there are over 320 undecillion(! ) total possible IPv6 addresses. In case you don’t know what an undecillion is, it looks like this:
340, 282, 366, 920, 938, 463, 463, 374, 607, 431, 768, 211, 456
That should be more than enough to handle every device that humanity makes as a whole!
What Is a MAC Address?
A Media Access Control (MAC) address identifies a unique “network interface” in a device. While IP addresses are assigned by ISPs and can be re-assigned as devices connect and disconnect, MAC addresses are tied to a physical adapter and are assigned by manufacturers.
A MAC address is a 12-digit string where each digit can be any number from 0 to 9 or a letter between A and F. For readability sake, the string is divided into chunks. There are three common formats, the first being the most common and preferred:
68:7F:74:12:34:56
68-7F-74-12-34-56
687. F74. 123. 456
The first six digits (called the “prefix”) represent the adapter’s manufacturer, while the last six digits represent the unique identification number for that specific adapter. The MAC address contains no information about which network a device is connected to.
To learn more about structure and nuances, see our post on the intricacies of MAC addresses.
What Is the Use of IP Addresses and MAC Addresses?
The IP address is used to transport data from one network to another network using the TCP/IP protocol. The MAC address is used to deliver the data to the right device on a network.
Image Credit: Sean Locke Photography /
Let’s say you want to send a package to your good friend John Smith. John’s name isn’t unique enough as an identifier, so we can’t just send a package labeled “John Smith” and expect it to arrive.
However, what if we incorporated his ancestry (i. e., his “manufacturer”) into his name? If we did that, he’d be called “John Smith, son of Edward, son of George, son of… ” Go far back enough, and it becomes unique. This is what a MAC address is like.
While this would be enough to get your package to John, you can’t just tell the post office to send it to “John Smith, son of Edward, son of George, son of… ” Even though it uniquely identifies him, it’d be a pain for the post office to find him. That’s why you need his home address.
But the home address itself isn’t enough on its own, either. You’ll need your good friend John’s name too, so you don’t confuse the whole Smith family on who the package is for when it arrives.
As such, the home address acts as the IP address; it’s where the target is. The MAC address is like your friend John Smith’s name: it’s who (or what) the target is.
Comparing IP and MAC Addresses to a Postal Service
So, let’s break down our postal example into technical terms. Your router/modem has a unique IP address assigned by your ISP. This is like how John Smith’s home has an address assigned to it by the postal service.
Every device on a router has a unique MAC address, much like how everyone in John Smith’s home has an identifying name. The IP address gets the data to your router, like a deliveryman putting the package on John Smith’s doorstep.
Then, using the name on the label, John Smith can get his package, much like how a MAC address identifies which device is which.
The Importance of MAC Addresses
Mac addresses allow you to filter devices on modern routers: you can tell your router to deny access to specific MAC addresses (i. e., specific physical devices) or only allow certain MAC addresses to connect.
You can’t do the same with IP addresses because routers assign internal IP addresses to devices as they connect and recycle them when devices disconnect.
That’s why your smartphone could have an internal IP address of 192. 168. 0. 1 in the morning but 192. 3 when you come home from work. As such, you can’t filter a device using its IP address because it’s always changing.
Another nifty use for MAC addresses is triggering Wake-on-LAN. Ethernet adapters can accept a “magic packet” that causes the device to turn on, even if it’s shut down.
The magic packet can be sent from anywhere on the same network, and the MAC address of the receiving device’s Ethernet adapter is how the magic packet knows where to go.
Where IP and MAC Addresses Fall Short
Remember how an IP address denotes the connection of a device to an ISP? Well, what happens if a second device connects to the main device and funnels all of their web activity through it? The second device’s activities appear to be the main devices to the rest of the web.
That’s basically how you hide your IP address from others. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with doing this, it can lead to security problems. For example, a malicious hacker who smartly hides behind several proxies can make it difficult for authorities to track him down.
Another quirk is that IP addresses can be traced. For example, with enough power, someone can see where you live with your IP address.
And there’s also the potential issue of IP conflicts, where two or more devices share the same IP address. This mostly happens within a local network.
As for MAC addresses, there’s really only one problem to know about: it’s surprisingly easy to change a device’s MAC address. This defeats the purpose of a manufacturer-assigned unique identifier since anyone can “spoof” another’s MAC address. It also renders features like MAC filtering almost useless.
IP and MAC Addressed Decrypted
Despite their flaws, IP and MAC addresses are still useful and important, so they won’t be going away anytime soon. Hopefully, you now understand what they are, how they work, and why we need them.
Now that you know what an IP address is, do you know your computer’s own address? If you need to fetch it for some reason, don’t worry; it’s usually very easy to find, regardless of which operating system you use.
Image Credit: ronstik/Shutterstock
How to Find Your IP Address on Windows 10The IP address is the unique identifier for your computer on the internet. Here are two ways to find it on Windows 10.
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About The Author
Simon Batt
(705 Articles Published)
A Computer Science BSc graduate with a deep passion for all things security. After working for an indie game studio, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech.
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