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    What MAC address wil my ISP see ?

    Discussion in 'Networking and Wireless' started by Laptopaddict, Sep 27, 2009.

  1. Laptopaddict

    Laptopaddict Notebook Deity

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    At the bottom of my modem , I see a MAC address .

    Will my ISP see only that MAC address or the MAC address associated with my laptop or PC ?
     
    Laptopaddict, Sep 27, 2009
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  2. surfasb

    surfasb Titles Shmm-itles

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    Whatever address you see when you type at the command prompt "ipconfig /all"
     
    surfasb, Sep 27, 2009
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  3. Laptopaddict

    Laptopaddict Notebook Deity

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    Is this the MAC (Modem access code) of my laptop or the one of the modem ?
     
    Laptopaddict, Sep 27, 2009
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  4. splashpants

    splashpants Notebook Consultant

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    Why does it matter?? Is there anything illegal you plan on doing or something... or are you concerned they will 'steal' your mac address or something??
     
    splashpants, Sep 27, 2009
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  5. Laptopaddict

    Laptopaddict Notebook Deity

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    Looks like the MAC (Modem access code) mentioned on the modem is NOT the MAC (Media access control) address
     
    Laptopaddict, Sep 27, 2009
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  6. Laptopaddict

    Laptopaddict Notebook Deity

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    Some ISP's only allow 1 computer to connect, I use more than 1 PC...
     
    Laptopaddict, Sep 27, 2009
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  7. Hep!

    Hep! sees beauty in everything

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    Not true. They will see the MACs of the first two devices in the line.

    First is always going to be the modem.
    Second can be whatever you want. A computer. A router. Etc.
    The modem will hold the MAC of the first attached device until it is reset.

    If you have more than one PC, just spend the $50 and get a router. Switching back and forth is a pain that's not worthwhile, you'll likely have to reboot the modem every time.
    Plus, a router is a hardware firewall, which you definitely want. I can't imagine using a broadband connection in Windows (or OSX for that matter... or anything except BSD... but I digress) without one.
     
    Hep!, Sep 27, 2009
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  8. devilcm3

    devilcm3 Notebook Deity

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    is there such ISP that allows only one computer?
    more computers isnt going to consume more bandwidth , but rather sharing the bandwidth...
     
    devilcm3, Sep 27, 2009
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  9. Trottel

    Trottel Notebook Virtuoso

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    Unfortunately there are.
     
    Trottel, Sep 27, 2009
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  10. newsposter

    newsposter Notebook Virtuoso

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    No quick and dirty single-sentance answer to this one.

    It depends on how the ISP has their/your broadband modem (cable and/or dsl) set up.

    Some ISPs don't care. They will certainly take note of the mac address of the broadband modem and maybe the first downstream device. Other ISPs care quite a bit and will log every mac address the broadband modem sees.

    The conventional way around this is to use a NAT firewall/router to connect all of your home gear. Just make sure it's not passing mac address and/or arp table info upstream to the ISP.
     
    newsposter, Sep 28, 2009
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  11. surfasb

    surfasb Titles Shmm-itles

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    Touche

    I misread the post.
     
    surfasb, Sep 29, 2009
    #11