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221 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
221 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
<!--
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Title: How to spoof (anonymize) your MAC address and hostname automatically at boot on macOS
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Description: Learn how to spoof (anonymize) your MAC address and hostname automatically at boot on macOS.
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Author: Sun Knudsen <https://github.com/sunknudsen>
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Contributors: Sun Knudsen <https://github.com/sunknudsen>
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Publication date: 2020-05-19T00:00:00.000Z
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-->
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# How to spoof (anonymize) your MAC address and hostname automatically at boot on macOS
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[](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASXANpr_zX8 "How to spoof (anonymize) your MAC address and hostname automatically at boot on macOS - YouTube")
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> Heads up: unfortunately this guide does not work on Macs equipped with the new T2 chip running macOS Mojave. If that’s your case, please consider upgrading to Catalina.
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#### Step 1: create `/usr/local/sbin` folder
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```shell
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sudo mkdir /usr/local/sbin
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sudo chown $(whoami):admin /usr/local/sbin/
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```
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#### Step 2: create `spoof.sh` script
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> When copy/pasting commands that start with `cat << "EOF"`, select all lines (from `cat << "EOF"` to `EOF`) at once as they are part of the same (single) command
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```shell
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cat << "EOF" > /usr/local/sbin/spoof.sh
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#! /bin/sh
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set -e
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export LC_CTYPE=C
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dirname=`dirname "${BASH_SOURCE}"`
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# Spoof computer name
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model_name=`system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/Model Name/ {$1=$2=""; print $0}' | sed -e 's/^[ ]*//'`
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first_name=`sed "$(jot -r 1 1 2048)q;d" $dirname/first_names.txt | sed -e 's/[^a-zA-Z]//g'`
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computer_name=`echo "$first_name’s $model_name"`
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host_name=`echo $computer_name | sed -e 's/’//g' | sed -e 's/ /-/g'`
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sudo scutil --set ComputerName "$computer_name"
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sudo scutil --set LocalHostName "$host_name"
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sudo scutil --set HostName "$host_name"
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echo "Spoofed hostname to $host_name"
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# Spoof MAC address of en0 interface
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mac_address_prefix=`sed "$(jot -r 1 1 768)q;d" $dirname/mac_address_prefixes.txt | sed -e 's/[^A-F0-9:]//g'`
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mac_address_suffix=`openssl rand -hex 3 | sed 's/\(..\)/\1:/g; s/.$//'`
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mac_address=`echo "$mac_address_prefix:$mac_address_suffix" | awk '{print toupper($0)}'`
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sudo ifconfig en0 ether "$mac_address"
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echo "Spoofed MAC address of en0 interface to $mac_address"
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EOF
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```
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Ok, a lot is happening here. Let’s break it down into reviewable pieces.
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```shell
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set -e
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```
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Exit on error
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```shell
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export LC_CTYPE=C
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```
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Fix `sed: RE error: illegal byte sequence` error
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```shell
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dirname=`dirname "${BASH_SOURCE}"`
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```
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Set variable `dirname` to path of `spoof.sh`
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```shell
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model_name=`system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/Model Name/ {$1=$2=""; print $0}' | sed -e 's/^[ ]*//'`
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```
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Set variable `model_name` to the model of your Mac
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```shell
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first_name=`sed "$(jot -r 1 1 2048)q;d" $dirname/first_names.txt | sed -e 's/[^a-zA-Z]//g'`
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```
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Set variable `first_name` to random first name found in `first_names.txt`
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```shell
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computer_name=`echo "$first_name’s $model_name"`
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host_name=`echo $computer_name | sed -e 's/’//g' | sed -e 's/ /-/g'`
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```
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Set variables `computer_name` and `host_name` using values from variables `first_name`, `model_name` and `computer_name`
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```shell
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sudo scutil --set ComputerName "$computer_name"
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sudo scutil --set LocalHostName "$host_name"
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sudo scutil --set HostName "$host_name"
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echo "Spoofed hostname to $host_name"
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```
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Set `ComputerName`, `LocalHostName` and `HostName` using `scutil` and echo spoofed computer name
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```shell
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mac_address_prefix=`sed "$(jot -r 1 1 768)q;d" $dirname/mac_address_prefixes.txt | sed -e 's/[^A-F0-9:]//g'`
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```
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Set variable `mac_address_prefix` to random Apple MAC address prefix found in `mac_address_prefixes.txt`
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```shell
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mac_address_suffix=`openssl rand -hex 3 | sed 's/\(..\)/\1:/g; s/.$//'`
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```
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Set variable `mac_address_suffix` to random value genereated by OpenSSL
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```shell
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mac_address=`echo "$mac_address_prefix:$mac_address_suffix" | awk '{print toupper($0)}'`
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```
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Set variable `mac_address` using values from variables `mac_address_prefix` and `mac_address_suffix` and convert to upper case
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```shell
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sudo ifconfig en0 ether "$mac_address"
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echo "Spoofed MAC address of en0 interface to $mac_address"
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```
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Set spoofed MAC address using `ifconfig` and echo spoofed MAC address
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#### Step 3: make `spoof.sh` executable
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```shell
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chmod +x /usr/local/sbin/spoof.sh
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```
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#### Step 4: download [first_names.txt](first_names.txt)
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This list includes the top 2048 most popular baby names from the [USA Social Security Administration](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/limits.html).
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```shell
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curl -o /usr/local/sbin/first_names.txt https://sunknudsen.com/static/media/privacy-guides/how-to-spoof-anonymize-your-mac-address-and-hostname-automatically-at-boot-on-macos/first_names.txt
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```
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#### Step 5: download [mac_address_prefixes.txt](mac_address_prefixes.txt)
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This list includes 768 Apple MAC address prefixes.
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```shell
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curl -o /usr/local/sbin/mac_address_prefixes.txt https://sunknudsen.com/static/media/privacy-guides/how-to-spoof-anonymize-your-mac-address-and-hostname-automatically-at-boot-on-macos/mac_address_prefixes.txt
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```
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#### Step 6: create `local.spoof.plist` launch daemon
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This step is responsible for running `spoof.sh` every time your Mac boots.
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```shell
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cat << "EOF" | sudo tee /Library/LaunchDaemons/local.spoof.plist > /dev/null
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
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<plist version="1.0">
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<dict>
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<key>Label</key>
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<string>spoof.sh</string>
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<key>ProgramArguments</key>
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<array>
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<string>/usr/local/sbin/spoof.sh</string>
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</array>
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<key>RunAtLoad</key>
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<true/>
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</dict>
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</plist>
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EOF
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```
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#### Step 7: reboot and confirm hostname and MAC address have been spoofed
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```shell
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# Spoofed hostname
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scutil --get HostName
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# Spoofed MAC address
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ifconfig en0 | grep ether | awk '{print $2}'
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# Hardware MAC address
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networksetup -listallhardwareports | awk -v RS= '/en0/{print $NF}'
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```
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"Spoofed hostname" is random and "Spoofed MAC address" doesn’t match "Hardware MAC address"?
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👍
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---
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## Want things back the way they were before following this guide? No problem!
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#### Step 1: set computer name, local hostname and hostname
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Replace `John Doe` with a value to your liking. Don’t forget to replace empty spaces by `-` for `LocalHostName` and `HostName`.
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```shell
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sudo scutil --set ComputerName "John Doe"
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sudo scutil --set LocalHostName "John-Doe"
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sudo scutil --set HostName "John-Doe"
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```
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#### Step 2: set MAC address to factory value
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Given MAC address spoofing is ephemeral, deleting the `/Library/LaunchDaemons/local.spoof.plist` launch daemon and rebooting will reset your MAC address to its factory value.
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```shell
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sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/local.spoof.plist
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```
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#### Step 3 (optional): delete script and datasets
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```shell
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rm /usr/local/sbin/spoof.sh
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rm /usr/local/sbin/first_names.txt
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rm /usr/local/sbin/mac_address_prefixes.txt
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```
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