Can I track down someone with their mac address?

but if your network is really secure

and you have security on it, he could not connect in the first place!! Unless he found out your network key and password. In that case change them! Another thing you should try is to not display your ssid.
 
I've already went into the firmware and blocked the guy's mac address right after it happened. Again I'm not having trouble making my connection secure, I just wanted to find out where the person lived who was going on my network because my bill was high a few months ago. Figured if I could get enough evidence against them I could charge them for stealing my bandwidth.

Basically if I had all the info about their computer they couldn't really deny doing so. But since then I've found it pretty impossible to track them down with just the MAC address.

and you have security on it, he could not connect in the first place!! Unless he found out your network key and password. In that case change them! Another thing you should try is to not display your ssid.

I couldn't agree better with 129260. Sam, it was mentioned in this thread. With just the MAC address it would impossible to trace it. It's not like IP address. This situation is like... finding a needle in a haystack.

How did you know the "culprit" was using a Windows Vista OS?

I sure am...:fear:

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

Eh, honda wouldn't be worth the work. Since you'll have to unboard the door to get out. I'm sure Zenobia is packing... xD
 
i know.....

i tried to explain to him how to protect his network..........but apparently he is not getting it........sigh* i don't know how to help him........anyone know of a guide on the net that will explain all of this to him?
 

How did you know the "culprit" was using a Windows Vista OS?


It was part of the information network magic gave me.

i tried to explain to him how to protect his network..........but apparently he is not getting it........sigh* i don't know how to help him........anyone know of a guide on the net that will explain all of this to him?

Um I enabled the security through the firmware right after I found out I had someone on my network. I also blocked his MAC address from accessing my network.

I'm secure on my end. I wasn't asking for help in that area. I'm not sure why everyone keeps thinking that?
 
ok, so you have security now........

just before you didn't when the guy was using your network? ah ok. Well now that you have security, you will no longer need to worry about anyone connecting to your network. :) Also, not broadcasting your ssid will make your network invisible to everyone. :) I hope that answers everything? Sorry i didn't understand that. :(
 
just before you didn't when the guy was using your network? ah ok. Well now that you have security, you will no longer need to worry about anyone connecting to your network. :) Also, not broadcasting your ssid will make your network invisible to everyone. :) I hope that answers everything? Sorry i didn't understand that. :(

I can see how it was confusing. It's quite alright.
 
kool

Glad to know everything is good now. :) Sorry about the confusion, And welcome to the forums!! :welcome:
 
Amen to that! :laugh: Just joking. But welcome to the forums... after three pages of posting.

I'm unfamiliar with this MAC Address, but Sam is this like a IP address or something? I don't really understand the WikiPedia article.
 
Amen to that! :laugh: Just joking. But welcome to the forums... after three pages of posting.

I'm unfamiliar with this MAC Address, but Sam is this like a IP address or something? I don't really understand the WikiPedia article.

Everyone on one network will share the same IP but each of them will have their own specific MAC address which would ID a specific network adapter.

I mean what good would having their ip do for me? If they are on my network I would need to track them down another way.

But yeah idk if that makes them similar or not, but yeah there you have it.

& thanks for the welcome guys.
 
Same IP? Don't you mean similar IP addresses?

Yea, now I'm getting something about the MAC Address.

Question I would have concluded is how?
 
If I have 2 computers connected to the same network then they are both going to have the same IP address unless they each have their own modem which would be a separate connection/network.

About 7-8 years ago I remember being in the computer lab at school, all the mac's connected to the same network. We where trying to play starcraft on bnet together and we could never get into the same room because we all shared the same IP.
 
Ah, okay. You answered the question about the same IP address. Because they share the same connection? Is that correct?

I see why. We all use different modems. So it means different IP address. Sam, how about routers?
 
Ah, okay. You answered the question about the same IP address. Because they share the same connection? Is that correct?

I see why. We all use different modems. So it means different IP address. Sam, how about routers?

:shrug:

I logged onto my ps3 and went did a quick search for "whats my ip?" I also did this on my computer.

Both resulted with the same IP address.

My ps3 is wired to my router. I can test this further by going into the living room later and checking out my dad's IP on his computer to see if it being wireless from the router changes anything.

But as far as I can tell the router is just spreading out the connection to several computers, it doesn't relate directly to the IP address at all.
 
I see. Thanks for the explanation.

I want a PS3!!! >:D

I don't plan one purchasing one, unless it includes PS1 and PS2, and DVD playback. The only ones that are selling at the local retail store is the 40GB.
 
I bought the 80gig, the extra 100$ is worth it imo.

The 40gig can play dvds/blue ray. You need the 80 gig for the ps2 playback.
 
Your PCs do not have the same IP Address internally, only as they are seen from the Internet. This is because you have private addresses provided internally by your router, which operates using NAT (Network Address Translation) or more accurately PAT (Port Address Translation) which shares a single IP Address on the Internet side of your router.

Internally your router, wireless or not, is providing a different IP Address to each PC or other network connected device like a PS3, network printer, etc. This is so it can identify that device when it sends something out to the Internet and then allow the response to come back to the internal network. It finds the actual physical device using its MAC (Media Access Control) address.

What happens is that your PC asks your router for an IP Address when it first connects, which the router supplies from a 'pool' or table of addresses that it keeps internally. It then remembers what IP Address it gave to which MAC address in that table, so it can look it up again in the future.

A MAC Address is a hardware address embedded in the NIC (Network Interface Card) built into your PC or other device. This is assigned to the NIC by the manufacturer based partially on standards set by the IEEE. You might be able to figure out who manufactured the NIC containing a specific MAC address, since that's built into the first part of the MAC itself.

Since the MAC Address is physically located on the NIC card in the computer in question and that computer can be located anywhere that the WiFi signal can reach, it's obvious that this can't help find the actual PC. This is why everyone's telling you to secure your network, since prevention is the only way to protect yourself. You have no technical or legal right to claim anyone did anything wrong since you left your door unlocked (no security) and advertised that fact (broadcast SSID).

The moral question still exists, but is basically pointless since there's no way to police this after the fact. This, and the fact that you never stated that you'd turned on any specific protection is why you got the respone you did. Whenever you post in any open forum, you need to explain yourself fully or be prepared to get an invalid response. Think first, or many questions will get asked later.

Bitman
 
Your PCs do not have the same IP Address internally, only as they are seen from the Internet. This is because you have private addresses provided internally by your router, which operates using NAT (Network Address Translation) or more accurately PAT (Port Address Translation) which shares a single IP Address on the Internet side of your router.

Internally your router, wireless or not, is providing a different IP Address to each PC or other network connected device like a PS3, network printer, etc. This is so it can identify that device when it sends something out to the Internet and then allow the response to come back to the internal network. It finds the actual physical device using its MAC (Media Access Control) address.

What happens is that your PC asks your router for an IP Address when it first connects, which the router supplies from a 'pool' or table of addresses that it keeps internally. It then remembers what IP Address it gave to which MAC address in that table, so it can look it up again in the future.

A MAC Address is a hardware address embedded in the NIC (Network Interface Card) built into your PC or other device. This is assigned to the NIC by the manufacturer based partially on standards set by the IEEE. You might be able to figure out who manufactured the NIC containing a specific MAC address, since that's built into the first part of the MAC itself.

Since the MAC Address is physically located on the NIC card in the computer in question and that computer can be located anywhere that the WiFi signal can reach, it's obvious that this can't help find the actual PC. This is why everyone's telling you to secure your network, since prevention is the only way to protect yourself. You have no technical or legal right to claim anyone did anything wrong since you left your door unlocked (no security) and advertised that fact (broadcast SSID).

The moral question still exists, but is basically pointless since there's no way to police this after the fact. This, and the fact that you never stated that you'd turned on any specific protection is why you got the respone you did. Whenever you post in any open forum, you need to explain yourself fully or be prepared to get an invalid response. Think first, or many questions will get asked later.

Bitman
Nice explanation of everything. That would explain why my ip is actually different when I go to my LAC.

Yeah I was actually going to decipher the MAC address but after reading about it I realized that would do me no good.

I've decided forget it, I got my security back up and that's all that matters.
 
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