MAC Address Randomization

Surveillance of WiFi device MAC addresses is already happening. You walk into a store, airport, etc. and they know you were there because they collect WiFi MAC addresses from phones and other electronics into a huge database. They can even know where you're located within the building.
More info:
[www.schneier.com]
[lifehacker.com]
[www.nytimes.com]
[thehackernews.com]

If your MAC is seen by one of these systems once, it might not be a big deal, but if it's seen multiple times then they start to get enough info to identify you, or at least your habits.

Since PirateBox can be a mobile device, is it possible to generate a random MAC address for the PirateBox on every startup, possibly using macchanger to do it? If so, how could it be done?

Thanks

Anyone know how to do this? It's been a couple weeks and I'd still like to know...

Is it possible to generate a random MAC address for the PirateBox on every startup, possibly using macchanger to do it? If so, how could it be done?

Thanks

Hi,
I think it should be possible _somehow_ .. I know someone posted this already in this forum...but I have no time for searching for it. sorry.

regards Matthias

pixel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone know how to do this? It's been a couple
> weeks and I'd still like to know...
>
> Is it possible to generate a random MAC address
> for the PirateBox on every startup, possibly using
> macchanger to do it? If so, how could it be done?
>
> Thanks
I think you are looking for something like this:
https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?pid=213774#p213774
I haven't tried myself, but you can try and see if it works.

Nargren, I will try that out and see how it goes.
Thank you.

Thank you again, Nargren.

I followed the directions and installed the script from [forum.openwrt.org] onto my MR3020, which is running a fresh install of the current PirateBox 1.0, and it's good. I didn't have to change/hack it at all, it just worked. It's useful that it randomizes the MAC address both during startup and at a preset time interval.

Maybe a link to the script should be posted on the OpenWRT Mods page?

Thanks

pixel Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maybe a link to the script should be posted on the
> OpenWRT Mods page?
>

Done and moved to mod forum.
I also added the script to the next bigger version of PirateBox

regards Matthias

Matthias Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I also added the script to the next bigger version
> of PirateBox

Great! Everybody can benefit from it in the next version. Resisting mass surviellance by default.

Matthias, did you include this already?

The macChanger script is included in 1.1.

it is located under

/etc/init.d/macChanger

and can be enabled with

/etc/init.d/macChanger enable

Or started once

/etc/init.d/macChanger start

best regards
Matthias

I found it under

/mnt/ext/etc/init.d/macChanger

I guess it also works from there.

ehm yes, but I think it won't start during bootup.
so you can copy it over and enable it with

cp /mnt/ext/etc/init.d/macChanger /etc/init.d
/etc/init.d/macChanger enable

or link it and enable it for bootup:

ln -s /mnt/ext/etc/init.d/macChanger /etc/init.d
/etc/init.d/macChanger enable

I'll add a fix to the piratebox package... that was obviously forgotten.

best regards Matthias