Re: Newsgroup security regarding posters identity ?

X wrote:

> One potential problem I see with the wardriving scenario is that if you're
> assigned an IP address by the unsuspecting user's DHCP server, then would
> it log your MAC address somewhere??? Is that something the ISP could get
> hold of???

Only if you hooked your laptop up directly to your "ISP". If you're behind
a NAT or anything at home your ISP only sees the MAC of that device, not
the individual workstations on the LAN. So you could move a laptop back
and forth without too much worry.

Assuming of course you don't subscribe to the possibility that Bug Brother
made your ISP install some sort of boundary device "back door" that logs
and/or allows access to your internal network that is.

>
> However, they would then have to locate you via MAC address, which may not
> be so difficult to do, if that sort of info is stored by the vendor
> somehwere along with the laptop's serial number??? And if you paid by

MAC spoofing is a pretty trivial thing to accomplish. In fact there's a
number of devices that are specifically designed with programmable MAC
addresses. If you're paranoid, invest in the time to learn the tricks, or
the hardware to make it wicked easy. :)

> credit card, then you'd potentially be traceable... Er I sold the laptop
> to a man with a beard at the pub officer - honest!

The cyber- version of "my dog ate it"? <grin>


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Stolen Computer
    ... useful is likely the "Mac address" of your network card. ... laptop there is a small chance that your ISP recorded it the last time you logged ... If you have wireless networking it likely also has a record of the mac address ... If you know your mac address and the ISP of your "friend" you sometimes can ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: Stolen Computer
    ... > useful is likely the "Mac address" of your network card. ... > laptop there is a small chance that your ISP recorded it the last time you ...
    (microsoft.public.security)
  • Re: Stolen laptop
    ... Is there any why of tracking or seeing where my laptop is, ... person who stole it goes online?? ... because each and every mac has a SN ... Talk to your ISP, but I doubt it. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.portables)
  • Re: Just venting (totally OT)
    ... Is an iMac a laptop? ... paranoid ravings about the advisability of getting a Mac laptop. ... It's not that different in terms of `basic use' from a Windoze ... Got to have standards. ...
    (uk.people.support.depression)
  • Re: Tracing computers via AOL?
    ... > of the laptop, ... the CPU serial number enabled in their BIOS? ... The MAC probably cannot be seen past the user's intranet so it probably ... but that's only for hosts on my intranet. ...
    (alt.computer.security)