Change Or Spoof Network Adapter MAC Address Tutorials And Notes

Change Or Spoof Network Adapter MAC Address In Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windws 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1

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What is a MAC Address?

A MAC address, or Media Access Control address, is a 48- or 64-bit address associated with a network adapter. While IP addresses are associated with software, MAC addresses are linked to the hardware of network adapters. For this reason, the MAC address is sometimes called the hardware address, the burned-in address (BIA), or the physical address. MAC addresses are expressed in hexadecimal notation in the following format: 01-23-45-67-89-AB, in the case of a 48-bit address, or 01-23-45-67-89-AB-CD-EF, in the case of a 64-bit address. Colons (:) are sometimes used instead of dashes (-).
MAC addresses are often considered permanent, but in some circumstances, they can be changed. There are two types of MAC addresses:

Universally Administered Address

The UAA, or Universally Administered Address, is the most commonly used type of MAC address. This address is assigned to the network adapter when it is manufactured. The first three octets define the manufacturer, while the second three octets vary and identify the individual adapter. All network adapter manufacturers have their own code, called the Organizationally Unique Identifier (OUI). For example, in the MAC address 00-14-22-01-23-45, the first three octets are 00-14-22. This is the OUI for Dell. Other common OUIs include 00-04-DC for Nortel, 00-40-96 for Cisco, and 00-30-BD for Belkin. Most large manufacturers of networking equipment have multiple OUIs.

Locally Administered Address

The LAA, or Locally Administered Address, is an address that changes an adapter's MAC address. The LAA is a type of administered MAC address, and it is possible to change the LAA of a network adapter to any address of allowed length. When the LAA is set, the network adapter uses the LAA as its MAC address. Otherwise, the network adapter uses the UAA as its MAC address. All devices on the same subnet must have different MAC addresses, however. MAC addresses are very useful in diagnosing network issues, such as duplicate IP addresses, so it is a good practice to allow devices to use their UAAs instead of assigning LAAs, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
MAC addresses are useful for security purposes, as they are only rarely changed from the default. IP addresses can change dynamically, especially on networks using DHCP to assign IP addresses, so MAC addresses are often a more reliable way to identify senders and receivers of network traffic. On wireless networks, MAC address filtering is a common security measure to prevent unwanted network access. In MAC address filtering, a wireless router is configured to accept traffic from certain MAC addresses. In this way, as whitelisted devices are assigned new IP addresses through DHCP, they retain their ability to communicate on the network. Any intruder attempting to impersonate a valid user on the network by masquerading with a faked IP address will not be able to do so because the computer's MAC address will not match any of those in the whitelist. This security method is only minimally successful, however, as a determined intruder can fake a MAC address almost as easily as an IP address.

ITKiDuniyaa Explains Network Adapter MAC Address In Simple Words

What is MAC Address?

MAC, Media Access Control, address is a globally unique identifier assigned to network devices, and therefore it is often referred to as hardware or physical address. MAC addresses are 6-byte (48-bits) in length, and are written in MM:MM:MM:SS:SS:SS format. The first 3-bytes are ID number of the manufacturer, which is assigned by an Internet standards body. The second 3-bytes are serial number assigned by the manufacturer.
MAC layer represents layer 2 of the TCP/IP (adopted from OSI Reference Model), where IP represents layer 3. MAC address can be thought of as supporting hardware implementation whereas IP address supports software implementation. MAC addresses are permanently burned into hardware by hardware manufacturer, but IP addresses are assigned to the network devices by a network adminstrator. DHCP relies on MAC address to assign IP addresses to network devices.

How do I find a MAC address of network device?

Operating Systems support various command-line and GUI utilities to allow users to find MAC address of the system. On Unix variants including Solaris and Linux support "ifconfig -a", "ip link list" or "ip address show" command that displays MAC address of the network device among other useful information. Windows including NT, 2000, XP and 2003 support "ipconfig /all" command that displays MAC address. On a MacOS, one can find MAC address by opening "System Preferences", then selecting "Network".

ITKiDuniyaa Explains Network Adapter MAC Address In Short Words

Short for Media Access Control address, a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network. In IEEE 802 networks, the Data Link Control (DLC) layer of the OSI Reference Model is divided into two sub-layers: the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer and the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer interfaces directly with the network medium. Consequently, each different type of network medium requires a different MAC layer.
On networks that do not conform to the IEEE 802 standards but do conform to the OSI Reference Model, the node address is called the Data Link Control (DLC) address.

How to Find a MAC Address

To display your MAC address on a Windows NT/2000/2003/XP/Visa computer:

    Click START
    Go to ACCESSORIES
    Select Command Prompt
    Type: (no quotes) "ipconfig /all"

In the "ipconfig /all" results look for the adapter you want to find the MAC address of. The MAC address is the number located next to "Physical Address" in the list.

How To Change Or Spoof MAC Address In Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003