secure wifi network mac address filtering baby monitor snug

If you know the MAC address of every computer you want to allow to connect to your network, many routers – particularly wireless routers – allow you to restrict access to only those MAC addresses you specify. The MAC address is how packets of data identify which piece of networking equipment they need to be sent to next, as the packet makes its way to its final destination. The MAC address uniquely identifies every machine, and in fact, every piece of equipment on your network.

So, for example, if you move a network adapter from one machine to another, the MAC address moves with it.

MAC addresses are assigned at the hardware level. And as I said, they are all supposed to be different – the ethernet port on my desktop machine has a different MAC address than the ethernet port on my laptop, which is different than the ethernet port on the server running in my basement.Įven two otherwise identical network adapters should have different MAC addresses. It’ll certainly keep the casual or accidental connection from happening, which is fine as far as that goes but for true security, it’s actually pretty close to not having any at all.Ī MAC, or “Media Access Control” address, is a theoretically unique identifier assigned to every network interface card (often referred to as a “ NIC”, or network adapter).Įvery ethernet port on your PC 1, every wireless adapter, and even every Firewire or USB connection that might also be used for networking, is assigned a MAC address. At first, it sounded kind of intriguing, but ultimately it turns out to be kind of like a cheap padlock: it only keeps honest people honest. I do hear about MAC address filtering from time to time.

Secure wifi network mac address filtering baby monitor snug