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Easily change your MAC address in Windows
Tags: A MAC address is a series of letters and numbers that identifies your network card on the network, either local or across the Internet. The MAC address is a means to uniquely identify your computer on the network in question, not unlike the IP address – something that is more commonly known and understood. Whereas an IP address is likely assigned via another server, your MAC address is assigned from your network card’s manufacturer, at as such, does not change irregardless whether the network you are on changes – such as if you were at home on your laptop and then migrate to the local hotspot. Your IP address will have changed but the MAC address has not.
From time to time there may be logical reasons that you wished your MAC address was different. Logical does not always equate to legal, but that is not something for me to judge. Since MAC addresses are unique, they can be used to pinpoint ownership of a networked computer. Your ISP may catalog allowed MAC addresses on their network and prevent access from unknown computers. This behavior typically requires you to visit a special webpage operated by your ISP where you authenticate with your credentials and register any new network device. Additionally, it’s not hard to see how organizations like the RIAA would be interested in uniquely identifying a computer and subsequent user on a network.
Irregardless of your reasoning behind it, the MAC address can be changed and it’s actually pretty simple. The free utility Mac MakeUp provides a single interface to change your address. You begin by selecting your network interface from the drop down list and then provide a 12 digit hexadecimal string which becomes your new MAC address. If you are unsure what to change your new MAC address to, or if none of this makes sense, Mac MakeUp can generate a valid address randomly. Assignment is then as simple as clicking Change.
Additional advance features are provided but in the grand scheme of things, they are likely something you do not wish to fuss with as they can cause problems if set incorrectly.
Mac MakeUp is compatible in all iterations of Windows and requires no installation or additional configuration.
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