You cannot identify a specific device by its MAC address online. Related Questions How do I identify a device by its MAC address online? except tracking your stolen laptop via its network connection. The MAC addresses of the network adapters on your computer are easily readable by software, and could be used for just about anything.

(I’m not aware of specific situations where this is done - I suspect other unique identifiers are easier to use - but it also wouldn’t surprise me if a MAC address were used in this way somewhere.) (Screenshot: ) MAC addresses, however, have been used for other things.įor example, since MAC addresses are theoretically unique, a MAC address could be used as a unique identifier for tracking the actions being taken by or on a specific computer. When it comes to data traveling over the network, your MAC address never makes it further than the first piece of networking equipment between you and the internet. When it moves from the ISP’s router to another router on the internet, it contains the MAC address of the ISP’s router. When your router sends the information further upstream to your ISP’s router, it contains the MAC address of your router. But when it arrives at your router, that MAC address is removed.

That means when information leaves your computer, it has your computer’s network adapter’s MAC address. While the IP addresses involved indicate the original source 3 and ultimate destination, a MAC address is used only on connections from one piece of networking equipment to the next. The MAC address is used by the network to identify which piece of hardware a packet of information is to be sent to.

So the uniqueness on which we might want to rely is not 100% reliable.īut that isn’t really the biggest problem. Some operating systems now randomize the MAC address.In many network interfaces, the MAC address can be set in software - meaning whatever the original MAC address, it can be changed.Occasionally, manufacturers don’t ensure they’re unique, so multiple network interfaces can have the same MAC address.In theory, every network card or network interface should have its own unique MAC address, different from every other network card or interface on the planet. If your computer has multiple network interfaces - say both a wired ethernet port and a wireless network adapter - each interface will have its own MAC address. MAC addresses are unique - sort ofĪ Media Access Control (or MAC 1) address is a unique 48-bit number 2 assigned to every network interface. That limits the usefulness of MAC addresses for any kind of device location or tracing. While they do identify the device, when used in networking they travel only as far as the next device, like your router. MAC addresses are unique identifiers for each network interface on your device.

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