MAC address randomization joins Apple's heap of iOS 8 privacy improvements

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 37
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    I definitely agree with you. I am sure the MAC address masking will be circumvented somehow by advertisers and the like. I really hope someone  makes a tweak that can hide the MAC address and also default Tor protection

    The only way I could see it circumvented is by an app on the device that someone figures out this MAC address being presented to the WiFi network, but at that point I think it would have gone beyond it's allowed access and would acting as both spyware and a trojan.
  • Reply 22 of 37
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Anome View Post



    I think that MAC address randomisation is a good idea, but I would want to know how it's going to work in specific instances.



    Where I live, I'm within range of somewhere around 40 wifi networks. I use MAC address filtering to keep strange devices off my network, and don't broadcast my SSID partly out of politeness (so there aren't 41 networks showing up for my neighbours).



    How is a random MAC address going to work for me? Even if it knows to broadcast it's "real" MAC address to my home network, it doesn't necessarily know when it's in range of my home network. Am I going to be forced to turn off some part of my security system in order to get my iPhone 6 to work?



    I suppose, you could do some elaborate hand-shake where it probes for the home SSID with a random MAC address, then when it gets the rejection switches to the real one, but that seems to be overcomplicating things. Another option could be to geo-fence your home network, but that may not be terribly reliable...



    This:

     

    Quote:


     In iOS 8, Wi-Fi scanning behavior has changed to use random,locally administered MAC addresses… The MAC address used for Wi-Fi scans may not always be the devices real (universal) address… Once the iOS device is done scanning it will give the real MAC ID.


    http://************/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-wifi-blocks-marketers-tracking-you/

     

    This is a great feature and I applaud Apple for implementing it.

  • Reply 23 of 37

    I think Apple will have more incentive to promote security/privacy when it unveils its mobile payments system along with the iPhone. The establishment of privacy standards, and the marginalization of the scumbags at google can't come soon enough.

     

    I have an ex who unfortunately (for her and me) is having a hard time letting go, so she sends me crazy emails through my gmail (which I'm still trying to wean off of). Of course google doesn't want to miss an opportunity, so I see this just now:

    Incredibly invasive, and in my opinion pretty unethical. Not to mention google was fined for posting illegal ads to obtain pharmaceuticals from Canada. The list goes on..

  • Reply 24 of 37
    robmrobm Posts: 1,068member
    "Is he cheating on you ?"
    lol - classic. The morons can't even get your gender right.

    I hope this can be implemented seamlessly.
  • Reply 25 of 37
    lostkiwilostkiwi Posts: 639member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PatchyThePirate View Post

     

    I think Apple will have more incentive to promote security/privacy when it unveils its mobile payments system along with the iPhone. The establishment of privacy standards, and the marginalization of the scumbags at google can't come soon enough.

     

    I have an ex who unfortunately (for her and me) is having a hard time letting go, so she sends me crazy emails through my gmail (which I'm still trying to wean off of). Of course google doesn't want to miss an opportunity, so I see this just now:

    Incredibly invasive, and in my opinion pretty unethical. Not to mention google was fined for posting illegal ads to obtain pharmaceuticals from Canada. The list goes on..


    Not a good situation for you.

    I can recommend making the break from Gmail however.  I'm really glad I did it.  Moved to an .icloud email and have never looked back.

  • Reply 26 of 37
    Good to know! I won't be updating to iOS 8 because without a fixed MAC address, I will not be able to access the wireless network at my place of work.
  • Reply 27 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Ranchero View Post

    Good to know! I won't be updating to iOS 8 because without a fixed MAC address, I will not be able to access the wireless network at my place of work.

     

    Yeah, sorry, you didn’t read the article.

  • Reply 28 of 37
    leonardleonard Posts: 528member
    I didn't know you could randomize the MAC Address. How do you guarantee unique MAC addresses on a network if every device is randomizing their MAC address. This seems to go against what MAC address was for. Of course companies seem to misuse MAC addresses.
  • Reply 29 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by Leonard View Post

    I didn't know you could randomize the MAC Address. How do you guarantee unique MAC addresses on a network if every device is randomizing their MAC address. This seems to go against what MAC address was for. Of course companies seem to misuse MAC addresses.

     

    Did you read the article? This is for pinging networks to which you’re not connected, simply to establish their existence.

  • Reply 30 of 37
    anomeanome Posts: 1,533member
    cnocbui wrote: »

    This:

    [URL=http:/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-wifi-blocks-marketers-tracking-you/]http://************/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-wifi-blocks-marketers-tracking-you/[/URL]

    This is a great feature and I applaud Apple for implementing it.
    Thanks for clearing that up, although that link doesn't work for me, it just takes me to the forums' index page.

    Did you read the article? This is for pinging networks to which you’re not connected, simply to establish their existence.
    In fairness, the article isn't explicit about that, hence my confusion earlier.
  • Reply 31 of 37
    jovixxsjovixxs Posts: 10member
    Check out "LinkLiar" on GitHub for an OS X version.
  • Reply 32 of 37
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Anome View Post





    Thanks for clearing that up, although that link doesn't work for me, it just takes me to the forums' index page.

    In fairness, the article isn't explicit about that, hence my confusion earlier.



    That would seem to be because AI are being childish and don't like links to their competitors so messed with the link.

  • Reply 33 of 37
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,324moderator
    cnocbui wrote: »
    That would seem to be because AI are being childish and don't like links to their competitors so messed with the link.

    AI is a business, loads of sites do that. Amazon won't let you put outbound links in your product reviews. If you link to a competitor, as far as Google knows, you are promoting them. If one forum promotes another, it will affect their rank in Google, which directly affects click-through revenue.
  • Reply 34 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post

    That would seem to be because AI are being childish and don't like links to their competitors so messed with the link.

     

    Nope, it’s just 9to5Mac that gets blocked. Anything else is fine. Wasn’t there a profanity filter initially, too? Can’t remember anything.

  • Reply 35 of 37
    cnocbuicnocbui Posts: 3,613member

    Denying what I said by confirming it - lol!

  • Reply 36 of 37
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    Originally Posted by cnocbui View Post

    Denying what I said by confirming it - lol!

     

    Denying that competitors get blocked, yes. Because they don’t. It’s just one website that gets blocked.

     

    tuaw.com

    macrumors.com

    cultofmac.com

    patentlyapple.com

    ************

     

    See?

  • Reply 37 of 37
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,213member
    cnocbui wrote: »

    This:

    [URL=http:/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-wifi-blocks-marketers-tracking-you/]http://************/2014/06/09/ios-8-randomizes-mac-address-while-scanning-wifi-blocks-marketers-tracking-you/[/URL]

    This is a great feature and I applaud Apple for implementing it.

    Now that it's rolled out to users it turns out not to be very effective yet.
    http://tinyurl.com/nwwwr8x
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