Technitium MAC Address Changer v6.0.3 Released

New update for Technitium MAC Address Changer is available for direct download and via Automatic Updates. You can download the complete setup from here. Separate update is available to download from here.

Official torrent for the complete setup can be downloaded from here.

The software will check for update automatically as per a fixed schedule. If you want the update before the automatic update triggers, just start the software, click on Help > Check For Software Updates menu to get it done instantly.

The update fixes minor bugs with IP and DNS settings. A new option to display network traffic speed in bytes/second instead of bits/second is available under the Options menu.

If you find any problem with the latest update just post a comment below. You may send screenshot(s) of the software if there is any critical issue to support (at) technitium (dot) com.

Technitium MAC Address Changer v6.0.2 Update Released

An update for Technitium MAC Address Changer v6.0.2 is now available via built-in Automatic Update feature and direct download. The software will check for update automatically as per a fixed schedule. If you want the update before the automatic update triggers, just start the software, click on Help > Check For Software Updates menu to get it done instantly.

The update can also be downloaded directly and installed from here (please make sure the software is not running before executing this update).

The update was released to fix a couple of bugs which includes an error occurring in Automatic Update on some computers. The update also adds feature to import network configuration preset files (.cpf) created with older versions.

Note: Currently, the version 6.0.0 setup is available on the website. The update for version 6.0.2, is available only through the automatic update channel or by direct update download from here. A new setup, which would include the update, will be available in coming days on the website.

Technitium MAC Address Changer v6 Update Released

An update for Technitium MAC Address Changer v6 is now available via built-in Automatic Update feature. The software will check for update automatically as per a fixed schedule. If you want the update before the automatic update triggers, just start the software, click on Help > Check For Software Updates menu to get it done instantly.

Currently, the version 6.0.0 setup is available on the website. The update for version 6.0.1, is available only through the automatic update channel. A new setup, which would include the update, will be available in coming days on the website.

The update is intended to fix a couple of bugs reported by all you guys. It also adds the missing set-first-octet-02 feature in presets and in command line options.

Technitium MAC Address Changer v6 Released!

Happy new year everyone!

What would be a great start to new year than release of Technitium MAC Address Changer v6?! So, just go to http://www.technitium.com/tmac/index.html and get started with the latest version!

Click here for more screenshots

Version 6 is completely re-written, incorporating lot of new techniques and features. Major feature being support for Internet Protocol v6, there are lot of other improvements such as user interface, to make the software easy to use with less clicks.

With lot of feedback from people all around the world, features like Automatic Update and Update Vendor List were added.

People who used command line parameters for previous version must verify their batch programs due to slight changes in the command line options by addition of IPv6 support.

Special thanks to Pratik Patil for help with beta testing of the software.

And, as always, do keep your feedback coming. Any issue with the software that you find, just fire off an email with OS description and a screenshot of error message to support [at] technitium [dot] com.

Technitium MAC Address Changer v6 on the way!

Just to notify all Technitium MAC Address Changer users, new version is about to be complete and you can expect a beta version this month.

New version, completely written from scratch, will have full IPv6 support. A complete change in code base was done to make the new version more efficient and easy to use.

People who have emailed me earlier for support would get email notification when the software is released. Others, keep watching this space for Technitium MAC Address Changer version 6!

Pre beta screenshots (expect interface to change a bit):

Accepting Donations Again

We have started to accept donations again. We are accepting Bitcoins and Liberty Reserve for receiving donations.

Earlier, we had stopped accepting donations due to issues with PayPal. Although PayPal being very popular, they are not willing to protect merchants from fraud transactions and hence we are not accepting any donation from PayPal.

Users wiling to contribute can now send the contributions to:
Bitcoin Address: 1K4i6VRau1to9KEop45o3rE2YHGHPM52sP
Liberty Reserve Account: U3627605
YouTipIt: http://utip.it/t/3873

Click to donate with YouTipIt

YouTipIt accepted payment options for Bitcoins.

I would like to thank all users who made contributions earlier. For any queries just post comment or email me.

UPDATE: You can buy and donate bitcoins from YouTipIt.

BitChat: A Peer-to-Peer Instant Messaging Concept Using BitTorrent Trackers

BitChat is a concept that I got while thinking about having a instant messaging (IM) system which would be completely decentralized, peer-to-peer and friend-to-friend and would provide confidentiality and optionally authentication. In this regards, BitChat can be considered a darknet system. BitChat takes many of the BitTorrent concepts and uses them to provide an instant messaging (IM) system instead of file sharing.

The classic problem faced in peer-to-peer system is to find IP address of peers who want to communicate together privately in a group. BitChat concept finds solution for it by using existing BitTorrent trackers and forming a peer-to-peer network by connecting to the nodes which are being tracked by the same infohash. DHT can also be used with trackers.

The current concept allows to use channels (similar to IRC channels) over which peers can communicate. Each channel has its own unique infohash. The topology currently thought is a full mesh network between small number of peers.

Each peer starts with a .chat file (just like a .torrent file) which contains infohash and tracker list. The file can be exchanged by email or any other way (even offline). BitChat client would use this file and get an IP address list of all the peers from the trackers mentioned in the file.

For providing privacy, BitChat would fake user agent info of popular BitTorrent clients so that even tracker servers dont know the intentions of the users. The client then maintains a peer list and connects to each of them in a full mesh.

Every connection to another peer is done with a brief handshake in which each peer exchange their identifiers, public keys and a list of peers that each one of them have (similar to peer exchange). Any new peer found from another peer is immediately connected in order to have a full mesh network. Each connection to a peer can be using TCP if directly feasible or UDP in case of client being behind NAT. UDP would punch holes in NAT allowing direct communication between peers possible. The client will have to implement a TCP like retransmission mechanism to solve problems with dropped UDP packets.

A client behind a http proxy can be supported such that it creates outbound connections to rest of the peers. Two peers behind http proxy will not have a direct link in such case and messages between them will have to be routed through other willing peers.

Authentication can be done with the help of public key cryptographic algorithms like RSA. The public key of peers can be exchanged online/offline and a small address book be maintained by BitChat clients to identify friends. The public key exchanged during peer-to-peer handshake will be matched with the address book to verify identity of known contacts.

A channel can be open ended or invite only. If the channel is only for closed group, the BitChat client can reject peer request from unknown contacts. In any case, only users who have the .chat file (or the infohash) can join the network in first place.

Confidentiality can be achieved by using public key cryptography. The public key of each peer will be used to do a key exchange for an agreed upon symmetric key algorithm. Each connection to a peer will have a separate key and it can be renewed with a handshake at regular intervals.

The system would allow for a common chat for all peers in a channel as well as private one-to-one chat. A group chat with only selected peers can be made with the group chat initiator deciding on whom to invite from the peers.

A simple client would implement text chat with a simple one-to-one file sharing. While, clients which can support voice and video chat can be developed.

Security issues which affect BitTorrent also apply to BitChat. The IP address of all peers is open to anyone knowing the infohash being used. Mitigation can be done by use of VPN or proxy services.

There are lot of peer-to-peer projects already being developed and used. BitChat concept is about using an existing infrastructure provided by BitTorrent and using it for a secure, private and user friendly instant messaging system.

A prototype or a working proof of concept client in .NET is being developed by Pratik Patil. The final client too will be made in .NET using .NET Framework 2.0 such that it would run on Mono Framework which supports Linux as well as MAC.

The protocol specification is under development and will be made public so that anyone can make their own BitChat client. Any inputs and queries are most welcomed. Post comments or send an email to me (shreyas at technitium dot com) or Pratik (pratik at technitium dot com).

Map Wi-Fi Router MAC Address To Physical Location

If you haven't seen this research android map by Samy Kamkar, just read on.

From the page:

"android map exposes the data that Google has been collecting from virtually all Android devices and street view cars, using them essentially as global wardriving machines. You can use this tool to accurately locate virtually any router in the world, as well as position iPhones and Android phones.

When the phone detects any wireless network, encrypted or otherwise, it sends the BSSID (MAC address) of the router along with signal strength, and most importantly, GPS coordinates up to the mothership

This page allows you to ping that database and find exactly where any wi-fi router in the world is located. Note that iPhones also send this BSSID and Cell Tower Information up to Apple, as well."

The search result looks like this:

Note that, Technitium MAC Address Changer (TMAC) cannot change MAC Address of your router. You can change it from web interface the device provides. MAC address changing feature might not be available in all routers though.

Why You Need To Change MAC Address?

I have been asked many times this question, in person as well as over email. Many people are clueless that you can even change MAC address and give open challenges, so forget that they would know why there is a need to change a MAC address.

Some people think that websites on Internet can track users using MAC address and so they must change it! Well, your MAC address wont go further than the first router the IP packet gets to. Its because, MAC address is used as unique identifier at data link layer (OSI layer 2), like for example your local Ethernet, while the IP packet being forwarded over Internet is at network level (OSI layer 3) and uses IP Address as a global unique identifier (which websites can see and track). And when an Ethernet frame reaches a router, the router's MAC address is used to send the frame forward. So, clearly this is not a reason to change MAC address!

There are many reasons you would want change MAC address, some legitimate others not so. I am listing some of the legitimate reasons while you wonder what the other reasons might be!

• Your ISP uses MAC address to identify or authenticate your Internet connection. So in case your network card goes boom, the new card you replace it with will have different MAC address and so the Internet wont work. So changing the MAC address to old network adapter is the quickest fix instead of telling your ISP to register your new MAC address which may take lot of time.
  
  
• If you want to access a network, which limits access based on MAC address, from another machine then you can change MAC address to the one for which you have access. Note that only one computer would be able to access the same network (no two computers can have same MAC address on same network to access it without any problem)
  
  
• A very important reason is privacy. Your MAC address can be seen by everyone on the local Ethernet network using many simple tools. A hacker on local network thus can track machines (and thus you) on the network. This is especially a threat when you are on a wireless network and are using a public WiFi network like in coffee shops, hotels or airports.
  
  
• If your original MAC address is revealed, an hacker can use it to impersonate you! On many networks (wired or wireless) access is restricted based on MAC address to avoid access to unauthorized devices on the network. So, when you go offline, someone can use your machine's MAC address and access the network as 'you'.
  
  
• You can get a new IP address lease from DHCP server by changing MAC address. On many networks, DHCP lease is set to last many days or is associated directly with a MAC address such that you get the same IP address all the time.
  
  

The reasons I listed above are just the ones that came to my mind while writing this post. There are many more reasons (sometime bizarre) to change MAC address.

If you change MAC address for some reason not on the list above, do post it as a comment below.

ComputerWorld: 10 Must Have Utilities For Small Networks

Technitium MAC Address Changer (TMAC) is on the top '10 Must Have Utilities For Small Networks' list on ComputerWorld.com. Its been a while it was listed in there, if you didnt see, just check it out.

You can also check out the editorial review of TMAC by PCWorld.com.