You can see this in the ‘Edit connections’ dialog for a given network: Supposedly there is some randomization support but I failed to actually make it work, so I scripted up a solution instead.įortunately NetworkManager 1.2 does allow for spoofing your MAC address. Since I’m sticking with Ubuntu 16.04 which ships with NetworkManager 1.2, I couldn’t make use of the new functionality. You can’t quite achieve all three of my requirements (you must choose random or stable but it seems you can’t do stable-for-one-day). If you’re using Ubuntu 17.04 upwards, you can get most of the way with this config file. I learned that NetworkManager 1.4.1+ can do MAC address randomization right out the box. My first attempt of using the macchanger tool was unsuccessful as NetworkManager would override the MAC address according to its own configuration. When the MAC address changes, most networks will kick you off, and those with Craptive Portals will usually make you sign in again - annoying.
#Find wireless mac address xubuntu free
Didn’t read the terms and conditions? You might assume that free airport WiFi is subsidised by flogging ‘customer analytics’ (your personal information) to hotels, restaurant chains and whomever else wants to know about you. If you’ve ever put your real name into one of those Craptive Portals on a WiFi network you’ve now tied your identity to that MAC address.
The snag with this design is that your unique, unchanging MAC address is just perfect for tracking you. It’s how networking works: any time you connect to a WiFi network, the router uses that address to send and receive packets to your machine and distinguish it from other devices in the area. It’s possible to limit this tracking by using pseudo-random MAC addresses.Įvery network device like a WiFi or Ethernet card has a unique identifier called a MAC address, for example b4:b6:76:31:8c:ff. That data can be shared and sold, and often identifies you as an individual. Your device’s MAC address can be used to track you across the WiFi networks you connect to. Paul Fawkesley Paul Fawkesley December 2017 Randomize your WiFi MAC address on Ubuntu 16.04