Re: Can someone access my PC if they know its ethernet MAC address?
From: Frank Slootweg (this_at_ddress.is.invalid)
Date: 01/20/04
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Date: 20 Jan 2004 20:39:30 GMT
Jason LaRue <aqdqmqiqnq@iqnteluser.no-ip.info> wrote:
> Frank Slootweg <this@ddress.is.invalid> wrote in
> news:400d82ba$0$91948$ee9da40f@news.wanadoo.nl:
>
>> Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu> wrote:
>>> In article <7ffa6ca2.0401192132.36bd898c@posting.google.com>,
>>> itafran2002@yahoo.com (Itafran) wrote:
>>>
>>>> I wonder if someone can help with this: while on the phone with a
>>>> wireless router vendor tech support rep, I was asked for my PC's MAC
>>>> address. The rep made me read it out to him. Then he walked me
>>>> through setting MAC filtering options for my wireless router. Maybe
>>>> I'm paranoid, but I don't think he needed to know the full MAC address
>>>> in order to help me with that set up, and could he potentially share
>>>> that info with someone who could hack into my system with just that
>>>> knowledge? Just curious. I've researched options for changing the
>>>> MAC address, but I can tell it's going to be a pain to reset
>>>> everything with the router. Any help here is appreciated.
>>>
>>> MAC addresses are only useful within a LAN. They aren't routable, and
>>> are totally useless to a machine outside your LAN.
>>
>> True, but for a wireless LAN (WLAN), "outside your LAN" does not mean
>> (for example) "outside your house".
>>
>> AFAICT, the OP talks about the MAC address of his PC's *wireless* LAN
>> card. If so, then it is one piece of information which could be used to
>> try to break in on his *LAN*. Of course one can not (directly) break in
>> on the PC with this MAC address, because that will give an address
>> conflict, but if someone could break in on his LAN, they could probably
>> also break in on his router, and via that way into the PC or any other
>> systems on the LAN.
>>
>> So, if not already done so, the OP should have at least another
>> barrier on his WLAN, like (WEP, etc.) data encryption.
>>
>> FWIW, I have a similar setup and use MAC filtering *and* WEP.
>
> And, of course, the OP could just secure his systems...
> (not that that renders this completely irrelevant, but
> it does make it somewhat unimportant...)
He probably already does that, assuming that like most 'routers', his
also acts as a firewall. The point is that this WLAN issue is a backdoor
into his *LAN*, i.e. the trusted part. I.e. think of it as a LAN cable
which runs to a receptacle in your front garden, and a label on the
receptacle says "Please do not connect to this receptacle.". I think
you'll agree that you'll need a little more protection than just that
label.
Of course *also* securing the systems themselves is even better.
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