How to remain anonymous on Local Area Networks (LAN)
Maintaining anonymity on Local Area Networks (LAN) is e pretty important subject that is not really talked about. The reason why someone would prefer to stay anonymous on local networks can vary from a kid trying to hide his/her traffic from their parents or a hacker trying to cover their tracks when performing an attack.
- MAC
-> A MAC address is the ally for media control access address. is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment,
-> Why is it important? — MAC addresses are UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS assigned to networks. They can be used for filtering which includes : tracking users,limiting their access and much more. The most important part of it being a unique identifier, is the fact that it’s known to be used in the past for finding stolen devices connected to networks . This sounds good and it might be, but the only thing that I see here is no privacy. This can lead to compromise .
-> What can we do? — Change our MAC address. This will ensure that you’ll have much more privacy on local area networks. This MAC address change can help users to bypass network filters and limits but also it can be used by malicious hackers to keep anonymity when attacking a network. However, I am a strong believer in privacy and like to think that every person should be aware of this and should have the required knowledge to at least be a little more private and anonymous.
-> How to change the MAC address?
- Linux :
- Open the terminal
- Type macchanger — help
3. Bring down your interface using “ip link” by typing ip link set [interface name] down
4. Change the mac address using the random flag “macchanger — random [interface name]”
5. Check the MAC address using “macchanger — show [interface name]”
6. Finally, bring back your interface using “ip link” as following : ip link set [interface name] up”
Now your MAC address is changed.
- Windows
-> Go to search bar on left side bottom -> type device manager -> enter
-> In the device manager window -> select network adapters -> Ethernet connection
-> Right-click on “Ethernet connection” -> properties
-> Navigate to Advanced tab -> select Locally Administered access -> Value -> from “Not present” to blank option and enter new MAC address like 00:7f:sH:fH:18:08 ->ok
The system will update with a new address, and you can check to continue using it until any issue occurs. In the case of reversing the changes, go back to the “Locally Administered Access” option, and select from blank to “Not present.”
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Another extra measure you should consider taking is using a VPN,not a proxy,a VPN. I am not asking you to use TOR as it will drastically bring your connection power down and also not let you fully access al of the services you use, but I am telling you that you should use a VPN.
- VPN ; A virtual private network (VPN) gives you online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection. VPNs mask your internet protocol (IP) address so your online actions are virtually untraceable. Most important, VPN services establish secure and encrypted connections to provide greater privacy than even a secured Wi-Fi hotspot.
The VPN that I recommend is ZSVPN -> https://www.zsvpn.com/
The reason I prefer ZSVPN is because of its features. It has MITM protection,very fast servers and also a no log policy. Not sponsored by zSecurity, just a good service that I recommend over the other providers.
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— Thank you for reading through, catch you next time!
falkensmaze
