How To Find Mac Address

Anyone interested in networking and networking security will want to know how to find a MAC address. A MAC address, also known as a media access control address, is the physical identification of hardware on your network. Knowing how to find your MAC address will help greatly if you want the best security available for your network. With a MAC address, you can allow only approved connections onto your network or block out certain computers altogether. Do not worry about getting confused; it is very easy to find your MAC address on all versions of Windows.

Things you'll need:

• Windows computer

For Windows users, go through the following steps in order to find your MAC address.

1. Go to your Start menu. From the Start menu, select the "Run" button. A prompt with a text box will come up. From here, enter "cmd." A black DOS-looking box will pop up on your screen. This is the cmd box.
2. The cmd prompt. In the cmd box, type "ipconfig /all." This will bring up all the information associated with your Ethernet adapters, be it directly from your motherboard or from your wireless card. From here, go to your wireless card information. This will usually be the only one that does not say "Media Disconnected" near it.
3. Finding your MAC address. There is a ton of information in the cmd box about your network, ranging from IP address to DNS servers. If you want to find your MAC address, look for the numbers next to "Physical Address." The mMACac address will be six sets of two digit numbers or letters separated by dashes. An example of a MAC address would be "00-1A-2B-3C-4D-5E."
4. For Windows XP users. Windows XP users have an even easier way to find their mac address. Simply open your cmd prompt and type in "getmac."