I have had some fun playing around with different tools in Linux today. It all started with one tiny question, but as I got a question answered, I immediately got a different question that I wanted to get an answer.
My first question dealt with how I can find other devices on the same network as me. That was answered quite quickly, but then I wanted to find out how I can find the MAC addresses of other devices on my network. That was also answered.
But, my third question was how I can change the MAC address of my device on any Ubuntu system. To be honest, I was surprised to discover how easily it could be done. Until now, I somehow thought that setup up MAC addresses on a router and only delegating IP addresses to such devices would be a very secure way of setting up a router. Of course, it is way better than nothing, but I was surprised to see that you can spoof and change your MAC address easily. What does this mean? If you want to join a network only available to people with a MAC address registered to be accepted by the router you need to get the MAC address of one such device first. This can be done by stealing it, "borrowing it" and writing down the MAC address, or by finding the MAC address as a user connects to a public WiFi elsewhere, writing it down, and then later using it to get access to a private WiFi network somewhere else (when that user isn't active on the network).
- https://www.ipaddressguide.org/how-can-i-find-the-mac-address-of-other-devices-in-a-network/
- https://www.ipaddressguide.org/how-to-change-your-mac-address-in-ubuntu-22-04/
Check those articles to learn more about all of this and how easy and fun it is.
Are you ready for more fun tomorrow? I cannot guarantee that I will write about these things, but maybe. Follow me, and you will find out!