License breaks when they turn off the wifi switch!) The MAC address is changed for legitimate, non-piratical reasons, if: - A cable modem customer gets a new computer (Will typically change new device to work with old registration) - In rare circumstances but circumstances that DO happen, if two LAN devices have the same MAC. (This frequently happens to people on laptops who register some software to their wifi card. (Depending on ISP handling, could range from temporary disconnection to adding a monthly billing item for a secondary IP) - The registered card vanishing from the system or changing ID, causing your software to look at a different card. (Switch port could auto-shutdown on mac address change) - Computers attached to mac-registered services like cable modems. Hi Crescens2k, I'm sure there is a way to do that (though I do not know it), but your software changing the MAC could have bad side effects in some cases: - Computers attached to managed network switches with port security turned on. If there were a compelling reason to modify the MAC in one of our shipped units we would require it be sent back and do it at the factory. Among other things, it would violate our agreement with the group that assigns MAC addresses. We would absolutely not allow one of our customers change their MAC or assist them to do so. FWIW, I do work for a company that manufactures Ethernet enabled hardware.

spoofing another PC), and doing it wrong can wreak havoc on your network. However, outside of the manufacturer, most reasons to change your MAC are fairly nefarious (e.g.

Also, it may be possible for someone to write a device driver from the ground up and ignore the MAC in the hardware (I am not real strong on what you can do in device drivers). Now, of course the device manufacturer can change the NICs - after all they need to perform testing and such, but they generally would not publish how to do it. In general there should not be a way for an end user, or even a normal windows developer to modify the MAC address. In order to keep MAC addresses globally unique, each NIC manufacturer purchaes a block of MAC addresses and assigns them to their hardware.

Programmatically change background mac