Are MAC addresses static?

[thirtythree]

If so, if I were to allow only the one MAC address for my laptop access the internet, would there be anything else I'd need to do to secure my connection? First time doing this :s I have MSN DSL with wireless built into my modem.

 

[Thorny]

Your MAC address never changes and is unique to the hardware it identifies. However it can be cloned so is not totally secure.

 

[rustynails]

yes, they are married to the network hardware. However, if you are speaking about wireless mac filtering you should add WEP/WPA or whatever encryptions available. Mac address can be easily spoofed.

 

[thirtythree]

My options are WEP, WEP+802.1x, and WPA. Which is best?

 

[rustynails]

Minimally, i typically set mac filtering, wep 128, and turn off SSID. This should keep you secure enough. However all wireless is hack-able, and there are many tools on the net that will allow anybody to probe your circuit city equipment.

~n

 

[edmundoab]

never changes in the hardware,

however I wonder for PCM-CIA wireless cards
should u change to another one,
i believe the MAC would be different, unless u have built in like what they have these days on notebooks

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Yes, your MAC address is physical, so it can never change. Each computer in the world has its own unique MAC address.

 

[Thorny]

Originally posted by: edmundoab
never changes in the hardware,

however I wonder for PCM-CIA wireless cards
should u change to another one,
i believe the MAC would be different, unless u have built in like what they have these days on notebooks

The mac addy used for networking is the mac assigned to the NIC, not another part of the computer, so changing NICs will change your mac addy