Automated MAC Address Changer

Overview

The Automated MAC Address Changer is a Python-based utility designed to enhance network security by allowing users to modify the MAC address of their network interfaces. This tool is developed for Linux-based systems and provides an easy-to-use command-line interface to change the MAC address, which can be used to anonymize a device on a network or bypass certain network restrictions.

Features

• Change the MAC address of network interfaces
• Simple command-line interface
• Utilizes Python's subprocess module for system command execution
• Regular expressions to parse network interface data
• Supports multiple network interfaces, including wired (eth0) and wireless (wlan0)

Installation

1. Ensure you have Python installed on your system.
2. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/WooshanGamage/MAC_Address_Changer.git

3. Navigate to the project directory:

   cd MAC_Address_Changer

Usage

1. Run the script with root privileges:

   sudo python3 mac_address_changer.py

2. Follow the command-line prompts to:
   • Select a network interface (e.g., eth0, wlan0)
   • Enter the new MAC address in the correct format

System Requirements

• Linux-based operating system
• Python 3.x

How It Works

1. User Interface: A command-line prompt guides the user through selecting a network interface and entering a new MAC address. Input validation ensures correct format and valid interface selection.
2. MAC Address Retrieval: The ifconfig command is executed using the subprocess module to obtain the current MAC address, which is then processed using regular expressions.
3. MAC Address Modification: The utility executes a series of commands to change the MAC address:
   • ifconfig interface down
   • ifconfig interface hw ether new_mac
   • ifconfig interface up
4. Error Handling: The utility checks for issues like invalid interface names, incorrectly formatted MAC addresses, and command execution failures, providing clear error messages.

Limitations

• Designed for Linux-based systems; may not be compatible with Windows.
• Requires root privileges to modify MAC addresses.

Future Work

• Extend compatibility to other operating systems.
• Explore alternative methods for MAC address modification that do not require root access.
• Add features like MAC address randomization.

Authors

• M.G. Wooshan Rukmal Gamage

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to my parents for their unwavering support and to my team, Encryptix, including Wathsala Dewmina, Rivindu Ahinsa, and Lakindu Minosha, for their insightful discussions and motivation.

References

For more information, please refer to the thesis document.

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LinkedIn: Wooshan Gamage
GitHub: WooshanGamage