The Microsoft Windows 10 operating system includes a networking feature that allows users to configure their wireless connections with randomized MAC hardware addresses. Using this feature can help to improve wi-fi security, as it makes it harder for outside attackers to track your MAC address and location information. When setting up randomized hardware addresses in Windows 10, you can choose to use a new address at the start of each day or at the start of each new connection.
Step 1:
Sign in to Windows with an administrator account. Elevated privileges are required in order to change network settings and enable randomized MAC addresses.
Step 2:
Launch the Start menu in the lower-left corner of the screen and click on the gear icon to open the main settings window.
Step 3:
Go to the “Network and Internet” category in the settings window.
Step 4:
Select the “Wi-Fi” option from the list of network settings on the left side of the window.
Step 5:
Click on the “Managed known networks” link near the top of the window. This will display a list of all wi-fi networks that you have connected to with your PC.
Step 6:
Highlight the network you most commonly use and click the “Properties” button.
Step 7:
Open the drop-down menu under “Use random addresses for this network” and choose the “On” option to enable a randomized MAC address for each new wi-fi session. Alternatively, you can choose “Change daily” if you only want to use one new randomized MAC address per day. Changes to this setting are saved automatically.
Leaving the random address setting in the “Off” position will mean that your network adapter’s normal MAC address will be used during all connections. For more information on the benefits of using randomized hardware addresses in Windows 10, consult the Microsoft knowledge base.
