Is this a smart thing to do?

vojky · 05-27-2002

I was just floating around eBay and found this auction for an Orinoco gold card. The seller was kind enough to show the MAC address and S/N on the back of the card. Isn't this sort of information kind of like a PIN number in the wrong hands??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2025882759

Thorn · 05-27-2002

It's probably not quite that bad. Although if someone were to:
1) Spoof the MAC
2) Send a threat to a high goverment official
3) Sign it "O. bin Laden"
then this guy might spend several uncomfortable hours at the nearest federal office "chatting" with the MIB.

Cheers,

fordem · 05-27-2002

Knowing the MAC of a card sold on eBay serves no purpose, what can you do with it?

Use it for MAC spoofing to break MAC filtering? Not unless you know who bought the card.

Use it for MAC spoofing to conceal your identity? Might as well use a random MAC.

Use it to get someone else in trouble? Manufacturers don't track MAC addresses to purchasers, and that prevents any of the authorities from doing it - and given the ease with which a MAC can be spoofed, any half baked lawyer would have that thrown out of court.

Incidentally your PIN by itself is also no good to any one - it's one part of an authentication system, and without the other part is useless.

05-27-2002	#1 (permalink)
vojky Registered Member Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 29	Is this a smart thing to do? I was just floating around eBay and found this auction for an Orinoco gold card. The seller was kind enough to show the MAC address and S/N on the back of the card. Isn't this sort of information kind of like a PIN number in the wrong hands?? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=2025882759

05-27-2002	#2 (permalink)
Thorn Did you do the math? Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Villa Straylight Posts: 10,359	It's probably not quite that bad. Although if someone were to: 1) Spoof the MAC 2) Send a threat to a high goverment official 3) Sign it "O. bin Laden" then this guy might spend several uncomfortable hours at the nearest federal office "chatting" with the MIB. Cheers, __________________ Thorn "Read Altas Shrugged. Compare it to today. Repeat as necessary"

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05-27-2002	#3 (permalink)
fordem Tropical Stumbler Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 575	Knowing the MAC of a card sold on eBay serves no purpose, what can you do with it? Use it for MAC spoofing to break MAC filtering? Not unless you know who bought the card. Use it for MAC spoofing to conceal your identity? Might as well use a random MAC. Use it to get someone else in trouble? Manufacturers don't track MAC addresses to purchasers, and that prevents any of the authorities from doing it - and given the ease with which a MAC can be spoofed, any half baked lawyer would have that thrown out of court. Incidentally your PIN by itself is also no good to any one - it's one part of an authentication system, and without the other part is useless.