MAC address

[Andrew Dalke]

Ajay wrote:
> if you use the service say 10 times, then the server can link those 10
> sessions together based on your MAC address.
> and the server will be on the same LAN

Sure.  But if someone's doing that much traffic analysis then
other possibilities are:

   - do you have characteristic use patterns? (eg, check
         c.l.py every 5 minutes, pull email from your server)

   - does your machine have characteristic patterns?  My Mac
       and my NT boxes both like telling the network that they
       are present.  Even with file services, iTunes and other
       services turned off, it would be pretty easy to identify
       my machine by looking at the headers in an HTML request.
       (Eg, look at the browser identification string, or
       see what cookies are sent and match them to previously
       seen cookies)

   - after a new machine connects to the network, check if
       an old machine stop connecting.  Even better, since
       you're talking wireless, see if the new machine has the
       same signal strength as the one one.

   - for that matter, someone trying to figure out who people
       are could use several receivers, or a directional
       antenna to figure out where you are and just watch you.

   - does your machine tell the DHCP server a hostname?  If so,
       don't forget to change it when you change your MAC address.
       If not, are you the only one who doesn't use a name?


				Andrew
				dalke at dalkescientific.com