Learn how to spoof your MAC address with a MAC address hider.
CyberGhost VPN is a software that allows you to hide your real IP address and secure your digital lifestyle. It offers various features, including ad-free browsing, transparent and certified providers, online privacy protection, data compression, and malware protection. It is available for Windows, Mac, Android, Linux, and iOS Hide IP Speed. Hide My MAC Address has a straightforward interface that displays your network adapter and your computer's real Media Access Control (MAC) address. One click on the Hide.
Learn how to hide your MAC address (courtesy Christiaan Colen / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Why learn to hide MAC address for your computer and protect your privacy? It is interesting to note how our Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Sensitive Personal Information (SPI) is increasingly under attack. A quick check on Wikipedia gives you a long list of over 20 different pieces of data which can be (and are) used to identify, locate, profile and target you.
Although it’s of scary, I guess we all have become used to the threat of our privacy being compromised. Long gone are the days when the only way persons were identified was by their face, fingerprints, or handwriting.
By the way, for cynics who may scoff at the need for privacy as simply an excuse to do illegal activities, they should know that there is a community of law-abiding citizens who do prefer privacy. In fact, what seems more unethical is that there is an entire industry ranging into the billions of dollars involving the sale and resale of our personal information – not to mention the wholesale spying of governments into every bit (literally) of our online data.
Our Privacy Under Increasing Attack
Our lives creep ever closer to what is depicted in futuristic dystopian movies. Check or yourself. Go to Facebook ads and check out how easily you can specifically target an audience. If this is the sort of targeting available to Joe and Jane Blo, imagine how specific the big & powerful players can target you? It’s no stretch to imagine they can target right down to the level of specific individuals.
You have probably noticed how Google can suggest a particular item for you to buy or when Facebook and LinkedIn suggest that you send a friend or connection request to a particular person. Of course, this is all just the tip of the iceberg.
As you become more informed, you will discover many more potential ways in which your privacy can be compromised or is already compromised—that is the reality. For starters, ensure that you read https://www.cogipas.com/top-10-essential-internet-privacy-tips/.
Tracking and Profiling is Getting More Sophisticated & Moving Away from IP Addresses
Most people know that the IP address of our devices can give away our location and a whole bunch of other information. That is just one important reason why we recommend using a trusted VPN service as a basic privacy measure.
- see What’s My IP Address?
However, another way in which individuals and their online activities can be identified is through the manipulation of the MAC address on their devices. The stark reality of this was highlighted by the famous whistle-blower Edward Snowden who disclosed that NSA tracks persons via their devices’ MAC addresses.
The startup company Renew tested this successfully by tracking mobile devices in and around London. This is why Apple has started introducing a system of generating random MAC addresses on their iOS devices.
What is a MAC Address?
The MAC acronym actually stands for Media Access Control. It is a unique identification code which is hard-wired or hard-coded into your computer’s and other mobile devices’ Network Interface Card (NIC) hardware. The NIC is needed by your devices when connecting to a network whether it is wired (Ethernet) or wireless (Wi-Fi). The MAC address is usually in the form of six sets of two-digit characters, separated by colons. A typical MAC address may look something like 00:0a:98:9d:65:16.
Please note that there is a different MAC address for each network interface. And so, a laptop computer that has an Ethernet port and a Wi-Fi radio will have different MAC addresses for the wired and the wireless network interfaces.
MAC addresses are 48 bits in length and the first 24 bits contain a unique set of characters known as the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI) or vendor ID. This identifier or ID uniquely identifies the manufacturer of the networking hardware. The following are the OUI for some manufacturers:
Belkin: 00-30-BD
Cisco: 00-40-96
Dell: 00-14-22
Nortel: 00-04-DC
Some manufacturers of larger networking hardware may use more than one set of Organizationally Unique Identifiers (OUI).
With your MAC address, you become identifiable on a network. As a matter-of-fact, there are some schools and companies which require that persons accessing their wifi provide their MAC address. With that information (and, may I say, under normal conditions), network administrators can use MAC filtering and prevent unauthorised entry to their network even if the unwanted device was issued a different IP address by DHCP.
Network administrators also use MAC addresses for diagnosing network issues since they don’t change (under normal circumstances) in comparison to dynamic IP addresses which may change.
Can I Block my MAC address?
Well, the answer to this question may have a YES-NO kind of answer. As for the NO-part of the answer, every device on a network has to present a MAC address and so access to a MAC address cannot be blocked. The situation can be compared to the postal system. For persons to get their mail, they need to use an address. Without an address, the postman will not know where to leave a package. In a similar way, devices on a network have to present a MAC address so that their data packets can be routed to them. However, that MAC address need not be the original hard-coded MAC address that the device was manufactured with. And so, in this context, YES we can hide (or if you prefer block) our original MAC address by using another MAC address. This pseudo-MAC address may be a random one that is changed by the user or generated by computer software or it could be one that is spoofed from another device which has access to the network. In this way, a computer system may be manipulated so that the MAC address reported by the operating system does not match the permanent physical MAC address. This is beneficial for addressing privacy concerns when doing things like using a Wi-Fi hotspot.
IMPORTANT: This method of switching the MAC address is not permanent. The computer will restore the permanent physical MAC address after it is rebooted.
NOTE: Apart from the MAC address on your computer’s network adapters, there is also a MAC address for your router. Therefore, if you are operating your own home network, you may have to change your router’s MAC address as well as your computer’s MAC address. You will be able to change the MAC address on your router using your router’s web interface.
Software which can spoof your MAC Address
The following is a list of software tools which may be used to change your computer’s MAC address. The list includes tools for both Windows and Mac systems.
- Technitium MAC Address Changer https://technitium.com/tmac/
- NoVirusThanks MAC Address Changer http://www.novirusthanks.org/products/mac-address-changer/
- SMAC MAC Address Changer http://www.klcconsulting.net/smac/#Download
- Change MAC Address http://lizardsystems.com/change-mac-address/
- MacAppStuff Spoof MAC for Mac http://download.cnet.com/MacAppStuff-Spoof-MAC/3000-2144_4-75289372.html
- ChangeMAC for Mac http://download.cnet.com/ChangeMAC/3000-18508_4-169342.html
- MAC Change http://download.cnet.com/MAC-Change/3000-2085_4-10343579.html
Spoofing your MAC Address in Windows
Although there is software designed specifically to spoof MAC addresses, spoofing is possible without the use of additional software. It can be done safely within the Windows operating system — and it is legal too. The following sets out how you may spoof your MAC address within Windows — of course, you do so at your own risk.
STEP 1: Locate the Device Manager
For Windows 8.1 and higher, you may press Windows Key + X before clicking Device Manager.
For Windows 7, you may type “Device Manager” in the Search box which comes up when you press the Windows key. Click Device Manager or press enter to open the console.
STEP 2: Identify the network interface that you wish to modify or spoof.
Identify “Network Adapters” from the list of devices. Double-click it to reveal all available network interfaces. Right-click the one you wish to modify and then click Properties.
STEP 3: Change the MAC address
Open the Properties window, click the Advanced tab and then select Network Address from the options listed. If you don’t see this option then your network driver doesn’t have this feature.
Switch the option from “Not Present” to “Value”. You may see “0000000000” in the Value box. Remove this entry and then insert your new MAC address without any additional spaces or characters. Press OK.
Spoofing your MAC Address on Apple’s Mac OS X
Although the Mac OS X allows you to see the MAC address for each network interface via its System Preferences, it does not allow users to change it from that point. However, users may change it by using a single command.
Press Command + Space, type “Terminal”, and press the Enter key to open a Terminal window. You will need to run the command below. Remember to replace en0 with the correct network interface name and replace xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx with your desired MAC address.
sudo ifconfig en0 xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Hide My Ip For Free
Generally speaking, the network interface will be en0 or en1 based on whether you are modifying the Wi-Fi or Ethernet interface. If unsure of the network interface name, run the ifconfig command to view all interfaces.
REMEMBER: This method of switching the MAC address is not permanent. The computer will restore the permanent physical MAC address after it is rebooted.
Hackers currently have become more rampant. They can now break into your PC and monitor all your activities, stealing your identity to use it on a different platform. They can also use your personal information to create new identities to commit cyber crime.
Related:
The only way to be sure your security online is sure is to keep your IP address safe by hiding it from others on the internet.
Fast IP Changer
IP changer is a small program that quickly changes the view of your IP address between four different configurations. It is fast, since it has been built and customized specifically for the windows. It is only 1 MB making it quick to download and use since it requires no installation. The software is free to download and use.
Free Hide IP
It is the best free privacy software. It allows you to surf anonymously online without revealing your real IP address. It can do this by enabling you to choose a country of your choice and assigning you a fake address from that country. When sending emails, it hides your IP address from the headers so that you can send emails through platforms such as Gmail and Hotmail incognito.
IP Hider Pro
Hide My Ip Address Online
IP Hider Pro is very professional software to mask your IP address and hide your traffic on the internet and your location while surfing. It provides government-level safety assuring you freedom on the web. IP Hider Pro will allow you choose the applications you want to hide traffic. You can select new IP on time intervals 3,5,50 minutes for more protection. It gives you the confidence to surf on any website.
Free IP Changer Software
Free IP Changer Software is software that changes your IP through swapping the proxy settings. It comes with privacy tools. Instead of the private IP relays, you will use a free proxy to enter public settings. One must use it through Firefox, though it can also work on PC and Mac. To install and uninstall the software is easy. You will be required to add some proxy settings to surf with IP changer. To return to direct register IP, select ‘clear’.
Hide the IP
It will help you hide your IP where others will see the hidden IP masking the real IP and thus keeping your privacy. You can select which country to be shown as your origin by choosing from the list. There are hundreds of IP addresses updated hourly for use. It allows you to send anonymous emails by hiding IP on email headers. When you are using Hide the IP, hackers will be tracked by the new IP instead of the real one.
Free IP Switcher
Free IP Switcher will switch between network settings without any need to reboot. You can automatically change network settings on the PC such as default getaway, Mask, default printer and more. It is 100% spyware free. It has a System Spray icon support that allows you to auto start windows. It also makes your network management easy and straightforward.
IPrivacy Tools
IPrivacy is easy to use software that will let you change your IP address by routing the Internet traffic through secure servers worldwide. It has a drop-down box with a list of countries that you can select to acquire a new address. You can also jump back and forth from any location around the world unlimited times.
Hide My Ass Pro VPN
Free Hide My Ip Address
It allows you to access blocked content and get privacy online with its top rated VPN service. It will give you access to favorite websites such as Facebook, Skype and more. It will conceal your location and personal information. It is easy to use software; you only need to download, and choose your location, and the encryption begins.
Hide My Ip Address Free Download
IpSharkk
With IpSharkk you can choose from a broad range of IP addresses, you just need to choose your virtual location and get the IP address. It can be used for HTTPs connections. It allows you to change your IP unlimited number of times. It gives you a 30days money guarantee by enabling you to test how fast it is before buying.
The Benefits of IP Changer Software
Although the internet has great and helpful content, it has its fair share of malicious users. The truth is hackers won’t go away soon, and it is best to know that everything from Trojan and worm to viruses are a result of the tasks of incoherent hackers.
The Internet Protocol Address Changer Software helps to protect you from these threats. The results of a data breach are never very great; they can cause individuals and businesses millions of dollars, but IP Changer can help you protect sensitive content all year round.
