I am moving into my new uni house next week and in order to get onto the internet the landlords want my laptop mac address and also my ip address.
Is it safe for them to have both of these details and also access to the internet, or will it make it really easy for them, or other people to see my passwords for websites?
Also just wondering are they able to see what websites i am going on? I don't really want them knowing and seeing the posts i may write on here and stuff.
I thought ip addresses were to do with the internet, not specific to my laptop, so why are they asking for my ip address? or have i got that wrong
I rang up the landlords and the woman didn't have a clue and said its for checking internet usage but wasn't sure if it was used for anything else. I asked her to check what else they use it for and she got a bit snappy and was just like you aren't going to get the internet unless you give us these details.
Does anyone know the answers to put my mind at rest?
thanks in advance, nic :)
Last edited by roses_for_the_dead : 05-09-2012 at 12:41 PM.
Reason: another question
Mac address only identifies the network interface card used.
IP Address is assigned by the ISP to a user. It's usage identifies the ISP the user is using, and (depending on jurisdiction) the police can supeona the ISP to determine which user was assigned which IP address.
To add to the above, the IP (internet protocol) address is the numerical number that everything in a computer network is assigned (such as printers and scanners et cetera) that use the Internet Protocol for communication. IP addresses serve two functions, host or network interface identification (what the device is (computer et cetera) on a network) and location addressing (what network the device is on).
Obviously it gets way more comlicated than that but that is pretty much the basics.
To conclude, it will be perfectly safe for them to have both of these as at the end of the day, they do not provide any access into your computer (unless your landlord is a very good hacker) which is where all your passwords et cetera will be stored.
The world is just illusion always trying to change me.
You will find wonder wherever you can, and spread joy whenever you are able.
I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, divide within me. - Frankenstein.
Your IP address is normally dynamically assigned, so home users don't have a single IP that they can give out. As it's a uni though they might assign you a static IP. But your mac address is unique to your computer, and if they've got that they can packet sniff and see everything you're sending and receiving. Either way with those details it will be possible to track internet usage.
Unfortunately, there's no real reason to require these details if you don't want monitor internet usage. So if they are asking for it then it is likely that they are going to monitor internet access. I think you have a right to ask them what they plan to check, and what can remain private. For example at my uni file sharing was banned, and they might just want those details to track who was using file sharing (or going over the download limit). They may well not bother to investigate every website visited by every user.
Last edited by oliness : 06-09-2012 at 12:05 AM.
"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong because sometime in your life you will have been all of these."
^ As it is a landlord asking for them, I imagine so he can see how much internet you are using at home and then charge you accordingly as he probably has wireless internet set up or something. That would be my guess anyway.
The world is just illusion always trying to change me.
You will find wonder wherever you can, and spread joy whenever you are able.
I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, divide within me. - Frankenstein.
If the landlord is offering wireless access, than using mac addresses is a common way to keep people who shouldn't be connecting from connecting. Not that suspicious.
For my internet at halls I had to register my mac address for all my devices I wished to connect to the internet. Basically, it holds you accountable for your internet usage, so you can't blame someone else on downloading 100gb of porn (that was just an example, I am not saying you download porn).
Not so fun when your lan port breaks so you get a new lan card and have to register your new mac address. Hmm, my pc may have at least 2 mac address' now.
Sorry, this post is pointless. I like talking about computer things.
Never forget what you are for the rest of the world will not.
Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you
For my internet at halls I had to register my mac address for all my devices I wished to connect to the internet. Basically, it holds you accountable for your internet usage, so you can't blame someone else on downloading 100gb of porn (that was just an example, I am not saying you download porn).
Not so fun when your lan port breaks so you get a new lan card and have to register your new mac address. Hmm, my pc may have at least 2 mac address' now.
Sorry, this post is pointless. I like talking about computer things.
No need to register a new MAC address you can alter it by using a program such as TMAC v6 or by simply manually editing the windows registry. Thus making your new lan card appear to be your old one so far as the network is concerned. Indeed you could perform a simple lookup query on the network, obtain everyone elses MAC addresses and run up bills in their name with some simple spoofing
Personally I find it quite shocking that they're basing their billing on your MAC address given that it takes seconds to change it and impersonate someone else!
Some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money.
They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with.
Some men just want to watch the world burn.
No need to register a new MAC address you can alter it by using a program such as TMAC v6 or by simply manually editing the windows registry. Thus making your new lan card appear to be your old one so far as the network is concerned. Indeed you could perform a simple lookup query on the network, obtain everyone elses MAC addresses and run up bills in their name with some simple spoofing
Personally I find it quite shocking that they're basing their billing on your MAC address given that it takes seconds to change it and impersonate someone else!
