Using MAC Address to Uniquely Identify Computers

An anonymous reader writes "One of Australia's gaming networks, GamesArena has recently imposed a third party program required to access their gaming servers. One of it's features is that it records your NIC's MAC address to identify your computer, and subsequently in future, ban you if you cheat/break the rules etc. The response from players is mixed. It is not open source software, nor is it optional to install. "Install it or find another server to play on". Question remains, is it going too far?" Definitely not- unfortunately it won't work since MACs are changable.

Oh this will be pissing people off

[Anonymous Coward]

1) Get your mac adress banned
2) Sell Network Card
3) Some one buys new card
4) They are banned
There will be plenty of second hand NICS for sale becuase of this. its a 1 2 3 profit plan.

Re:Changable?

[snookerdoodle]

Uh, that might actually BE the point - anyone with $10 for a new NIC can change their MAC address, no brains required...

If you have brains, you can save $10... ;-)

Mark

Re:Shh...

[MichaelDelving]

Don't worry, only the CHEATERS will go to the trouble to change their MAC address or swap out network cards. The rest of the non-cheating gamers won't go to the trouble to circumvent the system.

OMG OMG G4/\/\354R3|\|4 0\/\/5 J00!

[pumkinut]

As if people whining on CounterStrike weren't bad enough, now we have to listing to 14 year olds complain about having to buy a new NIC every time they cheat online.

Hah! Won't work for me!

[Gambit Thirty-Two]

I keep a fresh supply of token ring cards handy to swap out if the need arrises.

And im not joking:
http://gambit32.org/albums/other/aag.jpg

Modems

[DJPenguin]

What happens if you are logged in via dial-up? Will it ban the MAC address of the box at the ISP that you're dialed in to? :)

out of line!

[mary_will_grow]

>"...Question remains, is it going too far?" Definitely not-

Thanks for answering that one for us. Without your moral framework we would be lost in the chaotic hell of self determination.

Re:Shh...

[mary_will_grow]

SHHH! Dont tell people that deadbolt locks made by manufacturer X have a flaw that allows anyone to gain entry into a house that uses them!! If we let people know that their houses are not adequately locked, then break-ins will be more common!! And we'll have to FIX the locks!!! and make them actually work!!!
SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Lol

[Anonymous Coward]

Like i dont have a spare Nic card

My MAC is 00:00:00:37:33:73

[bartman]

I wonder how many people will change theirs to same as mine...

Changeable MACs

[ari_j]

Yeah, this definitely won't work with my Sun IPX. (As if that's an issue...) Ever since I left it in the trunk of my car for an entire winter (a harsh one, at that - nary a night of temperatures above -10F did we see, and quite frequently it was much colder even than that), the NVRAM gets reset when the box is powered down. So now I get errors from the PROM at power-up, because my MAC address is ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff and my machine ID is also all 1's. So I have to write some Forth every time I boot up (the only bad part being that I have to do it at the console, and I don't have a serial console cable, so I have to lug out the behemoth 19" monitor that goes with it), in order to set my MAC address to something valid and to generate all the parity and checksums and whatnot.

It won't work

[tkrotchko]

For a bunch of reasons, but two to think about:

1) Many windows drivers let you put in arbitrary MAC's. Ban me? No prob, I'll change it to something else.

2) Many firewalls will let you do the same thing.

3) Ethernet cards cost what...a dollar or two at a used computer swap meet? If it comes down to it just keep a stack of 10.

It appears this is intended to catch people clever enough to cheat, but not clever enough to change their MAC address.

Another example of poorly contructed solutions to a badly defined problem.

Easy way to find out if you're cheating on dial-up

[rcs1000]

Simple: if you are winning at Counter Strike despite a ping of 1,000+, then you must be cheating.

I mean, duh...

Re:What of windows?

[tom.allender]

If everyone uses DEADBEEFBABE that will create another problem...

Re:High road to the Locked Down Computer(tm)

[jdcook]

Wow. "Dialectic" on Slashdot. It's a brave new frontier.

Re:buy a new network card

[Anonymous Coward]

Congratulations, you just violated the DMCA.

The MAC address checker is a security measure, and you just published information on how to circumvent it.

Re:Exposing myself.

[jayayeem]

It is a typo for "Tolkien Ring", a system in which the computer that holds the "One True Ring" becomes the most powerful machine on the network.

Re:MAC Adress and Cable Modems

[isorox]

We log on a machine, write down the address, shut it down, boot mine up, change the address, and log on.

Who does it stop? Honest people.

I guess you're not honest then :)

.Mac Address

[peel]

How on earth can they ban me using my .Mac address form Apple? This just seems crazy. Well if they do I will just go get another one. -peel

I don't have a MAC address

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm using a PC.

New way to remove honest players

[Jeppe Salvesen]

Great. This is another way to get rid of those pesky, honest players and my enemies.

I'll just assume their MAC address, misbehave like hell. Their MAC gets banned, and I get rid of the losers.

Alone, I shall reign through spite and malice.

Re:What of windows?

[Keith_Beef]

I prefer to
FEEDBABEBEEF