Download Macshift

Macshift is a free and open-source tool to change the MAC address of any network adapter under Windows 2k/XP/Vista. It has a simple scriptable commandline interface. Macshift is very easy to use.

Is Macshift free?

Yes, Macshift is free of charge. The source code is included in the download (only a 200-line file), and the author of Macshift Nathan True even says "feel free to grab it and make modifications, redistribute, etc." Very nice, isn't it. The source is released under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).

If you make any really great modifications to Macshift, please, share your efforts with the author (see the link below).

How do I use Macshift?

Using Macshift is very simple. It takes one command line to change your MAC address. (For more details about MAC addressing, see this page: Wireless security: MAC addressing.)

Usage: macshift [options] [mac-address] 

Options:

Switch	Description
-i [adapter-name]	The adapter name from Network Connections.
-r	Uses a random MAC address. This is the default.
-d	Restores the original MAC address.
--help	Shows this screen.

To use Macshift, open your command prompt (Start menu -> Run -> cmd -> enter) and just type the command in the folder where you installed Macshift. For example, if your Macshift is installed in a c:\software folder, then navigate into this folder in your command prompt and execute the following command:

macshift 123456123456 -i "Wireless Network Connection"

The number is your desired MAC address. The "Wireless Network Connection" is the name of your adapter which you can obtain either from your network connections screen or from your ipconfig screen.

You can verify your MAC address change by executing ipconfig /all and looking at the results.

I would like to see a print screen...

Here you can find a print screen of Macshift and how it is used:

Known issues

We have experienced one issue which is the option -d. This option attempts to reset the MAC address for the "Wireless" adapter. The "Wireless" is hardcoded into the program. If your connection has another name, then the execution of the program fails. This can however be easily taken care of by using the -i option together with your original MAC address.

Where can I download Macshift?

Macshift can be downloaded at the following website:

http://devices.natetrue.com/macshift

Is there a similar tool for Linux?

Yes, we can suggest reading about the Macchanger tool.