Can open blocked sites on Mac easily without any programs with the use of L2TP VPN connection.Many. Apr 01, 2019 The necessity to hide your real IP address on your Mac is not a whim anymore. This is more of a question of responsible attitude towards your own privacy and online, freedom. Fortunately, there are many ways to protect your Mac device from spying eyes and get access to the beloved content (for legal purposes we assume).
Learn how to spoof your MAC address with a MAC address hider.
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
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.
Want to stay safe from online threats? Hide your IP address to ensure your online safety. There are several methods to do so and many tactics are available for free.
Sep 03, 2020 There are several ways in which you can hide your computer's true IP address from services, websites, and even your Internet provider. If you're in a hurry, you can use a proxy web service such as Hide.Me in order to browse anonymously in one tab of your web browser. Avast SecureLine VPN is a safe, secure, and convenient way to mask your IP address. It’ll hide your online activity from your internet service provider (ISP), employer, school, and anyone else on your network, including a snooping cybercriminal. And we never keep any logs on sites you visit, apps you use, or content you view. How to hide IP address using this free software: Select application running mode as Anonymous Proxy Mode. Choose a location to use proxy from, such as Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Turkey, India, Hong Kong. Finally, hit the Connect to proxy button.
Internet protocol address, commonly known as the IP address is a number-based label. This label is assigned to all devices that are connected to a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol for communication.
IPv4 is an IP address consisting of 32-bit numbers. The IP address mainly helps to identify the network and recognize the network address.
Therefore, hiding your IP address ensures that you can not only hide your geographical location but also avoid leaving a digital footprint. Accessing certain contents that have some geographical restrictions imposed on them is a breeze if you know how to hide your IP address.
Therefore, we have jotted down a list of methods in this post that can help to hide your IP address for free.
6 Best Ways to Hide Your IP Address:
Below are the ways in which you can hide your IP address.
#1. Using a VPN Service
VPN is an acronym for Virtual Private Network and is an application that serves as an intermediary between the computer and the World Wide Web.
It routes your device’s internet connection through the chosen VPNs private server. This way it avoids the internet service provider (ISP). The benefit of this being that whenever your data gets transmitted to the internet, it arrives from the VPN instead of your computer.
Moreover, your sensitive data travels through a private “tunnel” that the VPN creates from your device to the internet. This way it encrypts important data and protects you from online threats. Numerous VPNs in the market are available with exquisite features.
Best alarm clocks with usb. VPNs employ a number of methods to impart online safety and protect viable stored on your computer. Features of a good VPN include the following:
- Encryption
- Private DNS Servers
- Leak protection
- Kill Switch
- No Logs Policy
Read More: How To Hide Apps on Android
#2. Using a Proxy Server
Proxy servers reroute the browser around certain content filters and hide your IP address for free. It displays the server’s IP address in place of the real IP address but they are not sufficient in providing strong encryption. Proxies act as a middleman between your system and the internet.
SSL, SSH, SOCKS, etc. are several types of proxies that can be used to configure the browser and other applications. Proxy servers are similar to VPNs and to put it the other way around, VPNs are a type of proxy.
Proxy servers lack DNS traffic. This means that the website requests go to a third-party DNS server who can view your real IP address, thereby making you prone to exposure.
The use of free proxies can also be a bit risky as they may expose the real IP address if the connection to the server gets interrupted somehow. They may also slow down the internet speed and may have some legal restrictions imposed upon them in some regions.
#3. By Changing Networks
If you are certain that your IP address is in a compromised situation, or it has been blocked, then you can easily go for the option of switching the network to acquire a new IP address. This is another easy way to hide your IP address for free online.
You must already know that there are three types of networks viz; Public Network, Private Network, and Smartphone Internet Data (Mobile Internet).
Being on the Public network makes you vulnerable, hence choose a network that is password protected.
#4. Changing the IP address
The IP address of a system is usually dynamic and keeps changing once in a while automatically. This is because IP addresses are limited in number and therefore, are recycled occasionally by the ISP.
However, if there is a particular time when you want to renew and change your private IP address, then you can do so in the following way:
Best Way To Hide My Ip Address For Free
Hide Ip Address Mac
- Go to the Command Prompt in a Windows computer and opt to run it as an administrator.
- Input the following commands: Enter ipconfig /releaseEnter ipconfig/renew
- This will change your IP address.
#5. By Asking Your ISP
If you are wondering how to change your IP address, then you can get in touch with your Internet Service Provider. Your Internet Service Provider assigns you a particular IP address, so if you do feel vulnerable, then you can formally request them to change your IP address.
Adobe illustrator version. This may be a lengthy process and the application process might incur some charges; however, this is the best way to obtain a static IP address.
Hide Skype Ip Address Mac
Read More: How To Clear Cache in Chrome, Firefox, Safari & IE Browsers
#6. By Using NAT Firewall
If you use a wireless router, then you are already behind a NAT firewall (Network Address Translation). NAT firewall automatically allows multiple devices on the same network to display the same public IP address. However, these devices have their own unique IP address.
Therefore, by hiding your private IP address, a NAT firewall maintains a connection between your system and the internet connection by allowing only those responses that have been requested by your IP address whereas keeping the other irrelevant responses at bay.
How To Hide My Ip Address On Mac For Free
Final Thoughts
How To Hide My Ip Address For Free On My Personal Computer
So, you can see that hiding your IP address is no big deal as several easy hacks let you accomplish this conveniently.
You can also try to unplug your router and reconnect it to change your IP address if you want to change your IP address easily apart from the above-suggested hacks. Though this isn’t a sure tactic but can work sometimes.