Theway a home network usually works is that anyone with your network passphrasecan connect to your home network. However, it’s possible to add another layerof security where only specific devices are allowed to connect. This is calledMAC address filtering.

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Keepin mind however that Mac address filtering isn’t a single security solution. Itonly serves as an extra level of difficulty for hackers. It’s a layer that theywill still be able to break through (see below), but anything that makes thingsmore difficult for hackers is always a good thing.

Why Whitelist Devices?

Yourrouter handles all network traffic inside and outside your home network. Itdecides whether certain devices are allowed to connect to your home network.

Normally,this access is determined by whether or not the user of the device types in thecorrect network passphrase. This is the passphrase you configure in the Set Password section under the Security menu in your router.

This is the only security barrier stopping a hacker from connecting to your network. If you’ve set up a complex password, that may be enough. Unfortunately, most people set password that are fairly easy to crack using basic hacker tools.

Youcan add a second layer of security by only allowing specific devices to connectto your home network.

How MAC Address Filtering Works

Youcan set up your router to only allow specific devices by adding their MACaddresses to the router’s Access Control list.

• Usually, you can find thislist by logging into your router and navigating to the Security menu. You’ll find the list of devices under Access Control.

• You can enable the MacAddress Filtering feature by selecting Turnon Access Control.
• Once this is enabled, you canthen select Block all new devices fromconnecting.
• Once this is selected, you’llbe able to select any of the already-connected devices and block them if youdon’t recognize them.

• It’s a good idea while you’redoing this to scan through the devices and make sure all of the listed devicesand MAC addresses are devices you recognize.
• If, later on, you need to addnew devices to the list, you’ll need to change the setting back to Allow all new devices to connect. Thenconnect the device to the network using the network password.
• Once connected, go back tothe Access Control settings and change the setting back to Block all new devices from connecting.

Somerouters will let you enter devices and MAC addresses manually. But to do this,you’ll need to know the MAC address of the computer you’re connecting.

How To Identify The Mac Address Of Your Computer

Checkingthe Mac address on a Windows system is very easy.

• Open the Windows Commandwindow, type ipconfig /all and pressEnter.
• Search through the resultsfor the network adapter that shows as being connected to a network.
• Make a note of the Physical Address listed in thatsection.
• This physical address is thesame as the connected MAC address shown in your router.

On aMacOS system, the process is slightly different.

• Open System Preferences and select Network.
• Select the connected networkand select the Advanced button.
• Select the Hardware tab to see the MAC Address listed at the top.

You can see the procedures above for finding a MAC address on a PC or a Mac, or even on other devices, complete with screenshots and additional details, in this guide on how to determine a MAC address.

Fordevices like Google Home, Alexa, Philips Hue lights, or other smart homedevices, you can usually find the MAC address printed on the label underneaththe device. This is usually the same label where you’d find the serial number.

How Can Hacker Get Mac Address For Netgear Router Settings

Onceyou have the MAC addresses for all of the devices that need to whitelist, youcan then log into the router and either make sure they’re already connected, oradd the MAC address to the existing list.

How Can Hacker Get Mac Address For Netgear Router Ip

How Hackers Beat MAC Address Filtering

There are a lot of ways hackers can break through your various tactics to secure your Wi-Fi and home network. Hackers also have a way to get through MAC address filtering as well.

Once a hacker recognizes that they’re blocked from accessing your network via MAC address filtering, all they have to do is spoof their own MAC address to match one of the addresses you’ve allowed.

Theydo this by:

• Going into Network and Sharing Center in theControl Panel.
• Selecting Change adapter settings.
• Selecting the Properties of their network adapter andthe Configure button.
• Selecting Network Address and filling in the Value field with the desired MACaddress.

That’sthe easy part. The difficult part is that the hacker will also need to use apacket sniffing tool to pull existing MAC addresses currently communicating onyour network. These software tools are not always easy for amateurs to use, andcan take effort to use correctly.

Othertech sites may tell you that since hackers can do this, then it’s not worthusing MAC address filtering at all. But that’s not entirely true. If you don’tuse MAC address filtering:

• You aren’t even blockingnon-hackers or amateur Wi-Fi thieves from your network.
• You’re avoiding an easy layerof security for no good reason.
• You aren’t trying to makegetting onto your network as difficult as possible with multiple layers ofcomplexity.
• You won’t have access to asimple tool that can help with parental internet controls.

How Can Hacker Get Mac Address For Netgear Router Password

Thisis why it’s a good extra layer of protection for your network, but youshouldn’t depend on it as your only source of protection. Whitelisting specificdevices should be used as just one part of your overall arsenal of networkprotection.