MAC address spoofing

MAC spoofing is a technique for changing a factory-assigned Media Access Control (MAC) address of a network interface on a networked device. The MAC address is hard-coded on a Network Interface Controller (NIC) and cannot be changed. However, there are tools which can make an operating system believe that the NIC has the MAC address of a user’s choosing. The process of masking a MAC address is known as MAC spoofing. Essentially, MAC spoofing entails changing a computer’s identity, for any reason, and it is relatively easy.

MOTIVATION

The changing of the assigned MAC address may allow the bypassing of access control lists on servers or routers, either hiding a computer on a network or allowing it to impersonate another network device. MAC spoofing is done for legitimate and illicit purposes alike.

NEW HARDWARE FOR EXISTING INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS (ISP)

Many ISPs register the client’s MAC address for service and billing services. Since MAC addresses are unique and hard-coded on network interface controller (NIC) cards, when the client wants to connect a new gadget or change his/her existing gadget, the ISP will detect different MAC addresses and the ISP might not grant Internet access to those new devices. This can be circumvented easily by MAC spoofing. The client only needs to spoof the new device’s MAC address to the MAC address that was registered by the ISP. In this case, the client spoofs his or her MAC address to gain Internet access from multiple devices. While this seems like a legitimate case, MAC spoofing new gadgets can be considered illegal if the ISP’s user-agreement prevents the user from connecting more than one device to their service. Moreover, the client is not the only person who can spoof his or her MAC address to gain access to the ISP. Hackers can gain unauthorized access to the ISP via the same technique. This allows hackers to gain access to unauthorized services, and the hacker will be hard to identify because the hacker uses the client’s identity. This action is considered an illegitimate use of MAC spoofing and illegal as well. However, it is very hard to track hackers utilizing MAC spoofing.

This also applies to customer-premises-equipment, such as cable and DSL modems. In cases where the provider leases the equipment to the customer on a monthly basis, the CPE has a hard-coded MAC address which is on a list known to the provider’s distribution networks, allowing service to be established as long as the customer is not in billing arrears. In cases where the provider allows customers to provide their own equipment (and thus avoid the monthly leasing fee on their bill,) the provider requires that the customer give them the MAC address of their equipment before service will be established.

FULFILLING SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

Some software can only be installed and run on systems with pre-defined MAC addresses as stated in the software end-user license agreement, and users have to comply with this requirement in order to gain access to the software. If the user has to install different hardware due to malfunction of the original device or if there is a problem with the user’s NIC card, then the software will not recognize the new hardware. However, this problem can be solved using MAC spoofing. The user just has to spoof the new MAC address as to mimic the MAC address that was registered by the software. This activity is very hard to define as either legitimate or illegitimate reason for MAC spoofing. Legal issues might arise if the user grants access to the software on multiple devices simultaneously. At the same time, the user can obtain access to software for which he or she has not secured a license. Contacting the software vendor might be the safest route to take if there is a hardware problem preventing access to the software. Software may also perform MAC filtering because the software does not want unauthorized users to gain access to certain networks to which the software grants access. In such cases MAC spoofing can be considered a serious illegal activity and can be legally punished.

IDENTITY MASKING

If a user chooses to spoof his or her MAC address in order to protect the user’s privacy,this is called identity masking. One might wish to do this because, as an example, on a Wi-Fi network connection a MAC address is not encrypted. Even the secure IEEE standard encryption method does not prevent Wi-Fi networks from sending out MAC addresses. Hence, in order to avoid being tracked, the user might choose to spoof the device’s MAC address. However, hackers use the same technique to maneuver around network permissions without revealing their identity. Some networks use MAC filtering in order to prevent unwanted access. Hackers can use MAC spoofing to get access to a particular network and do some damage. Hackers’ MAC spoofing pushes the responsibility for any illegal activity onto authentic users. As a result, the real offender may go undetected by law enforcement.

HOW TO CHANGE(SPOOF) YOUR MAC ADDRESS?

STEP 1: FINDING THE DEVICE THAT YOU WANT TO SPOOF

The first step in spoofing your MAC address is to find the network interface device that you want to spoof. Go to Start>Control Panel>Network Connection. Then double click on the device that you want to spoof. Then click on the support tab and then click on details. Then in the list you will see the MAC address.

STEP 2: SPOOF THE MAC ADDRESS

To spoof the address go to Control Panel>Network Connections. Then right click on the connection you want to spoof and select properties. Now go to the advanced tab and click on Network Address. Then select the black box and type the MAC address you want to have.