MAC address is given to a single machine and it usually doesnt change unless you have some sort of chassis MAC or something (Higher level). IP address is assignable. Ports are selected by the type of traffic. Web pages usually works on 80, 443 etc. I hope this gives a better picture of what Medium access control is. Definition of MAC (ADDRESS) - MAC (ADDRESS) stands for Media Access Control Address. By AcronymsAndSlang.com.

By Ronald Pacchiano | Posted March 23, 2011

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Technology changes so quickly that it's often hard to keep up or stay current. But here's one small business networking question that's as relevant today as it was 6 years ago, and it keeps coming up year after year: What's a MAC address and how can I find it?

Our small business networking expert fields a reader's question about a MAC address, and he shows you how to find it on a Windows XP desktop PC or a notebook PC.

How to Find a Mac Address on a Windows XP Desktop PC or a Notebook PC
• Click on START, and then click on RUN
• The RUN dialogue box will appear. Type CMD and press ENTER
• A DOS window will appear. This is also commonly called a Command Prompt
• Now type IPCONFIG /ALL at the command prompt and hit ENTER. This window will now display the configuration of all of your network adapters. If you have multiple network adapters in your PC you'll see multiple addresses. The MAC Address you're looking for will be listed under the heading Ethernet Adapter Wireless Network Connection
• Now look for the Physical Address. It should look something like 00-50-BA-D1-BA-71
• To close the window when you are finished, type EXIT at the command prompt and hit the ENTER key

A Reader Asks: What's a MAC Address?

A while back I saw an article of yours that described how to properly set up a secure wireless network. Based on that, I replaced my aging router with a new wireless router, and I implemented all of your security suggestions. I'm using WEP with 256-bit encryption, and I'm not broadcasting my SSID.

My router also offers something called MAC address filtering. According to the documentation, this would restrict access to the network to only the PCs that have been registered with the router. So even if someone managed to get my WEP key, they still wouldn't be able to connect to my network.

I know what my IP address is and tried using that, but it didn't work. Exactly what is a MAC address, and how do I find it?

Our Small Business Networking Expert Explains 'MAC Address'

MAC is an acronym and stands for Media Access Control. The MAC address (also known as the physical address) is your computer's unique hardware number. When you're connected to the Internet from your computer (or the 'host'), a correspondence table relates your IP address to your computer's physical (MAC) address on the LAN. This is how the router knows where to send IP packets destined for your system.

On a PC or a laptop with an integrated network adapter, you need to find it using software. The process is almost identical to the utility you use to see your systems IP address. On a Windows 2000 or Windows XP machine you would use IPCONFIG. To see the MAC address, you need to add /ALL to the command.

See the bulleted box for step-by-step instructions for finding your MAC Address on a Windows XP note book or desktop PC.

Ronald V. Pacchiano is a systems integrator and technology specialist with expertise in Windows server management, desktop support and network administration. He is also an accomplished technology journalist and a contributing writer for Small Business Computing.

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Looking for the best MAC spoofing tools to change MAC address in Windows 10? Here are 8 best free MAC address changer for Windows 10 / 8 / 7 PC.

How to change MAC address in Windows 10?

What is the best MAC address changer software for Windows operating systems?

If you are interested in knowing everything about MAC address spoofing then this guide is the one-stop solutions for you, where you can get a clear idea about MAC address, reasons for using MAC changer application, and how to change MAC address in Windows 10 / 8 / 7 operating system etc.

Here, we are going to share a comprehensive list of the best free MAC address changer for Windows so that it can accurately help you in choosing the most suitable one and changing your MAC address with ease.

You might also like to know: How to Find a Printer IP Address in Windows 10

What is a MAC Address?

MAC address stands for Media Access Control address and it is nowhere related to the Apple Macintosh computers. The MAC address is your computer’s unique hardware number used as a network address for the network adapters like local area network or Ethernet address, IEEE 802, WiFi, and Bluetooth of your laptop and desktop computers.

In simple words, the MAC Address is a 6-byte number or 12-digit hexadecimal number that is used to uniquely identify a host on a network. MAC addresses are most often assigned (hard-coded into a network card) by the manufacturer and it can’t be changed easily, but you can change it or spoof it in the operating system itself which is termed as MAC spoofing or MAC address spoofing.

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Why Would You Want to Change Your MAC Address?

Well, there are many reasons for changing the MAC Address but in most of the cases, it related to bypassing certain network restrictions. The below-mentioned reasons will help you in precisely understanding the use of MAC spoofing and MAC address changer software for Windows computers:

✓ Your ISP (Internet service provider) uses MAC address to authenticate or identify internet connection of your computer. So in case, if your network card gets broken, the new Network interface card you replace it with will have different MAC address and hence the Internet won’t work.

In such a case, spoofing a MAC address that is already authorized is much easier than telling your ISP to register your new network card MAC address.

✓ If you want to access a particular network which limits access based on the MAC addresses, in this case, you can easily change MAC address to the one for which you have access available.

✓ When it comes to privacy, MAC address spoofing seems a solid option. If you are using a public WiFi network like in coffee shops, hotels or airports etc. then a hac

Mac Address Stands For