How to Use Random Hardware Addresses in Windows 10

Introduction

Every network card that enables your computer or mobile device to connect to the internet has a media access control address, more commonly referred to as a MAC address. When you connect to a network it’s possible for other people such as hackers to track your computer’s location using this identifier. Thankfully Windows makes it easy to change your settings so you can use a different MAC address for any new networks you connect to, and also to change your MAC address daily. Examples of all instructions in the steps can be seen in the YouTube video below.

Steps to Use Random Hardware Addresses in Windows 10

1. Navigate to your Windows home screen, and then click the “Windows” and “I” buttons at the same time to open the Settings window.
2. Click “Network and Internet” in the on-screen options. The Network and Internet screen opens.
3. Click “WiFi” in the menu on the left side of the screen. WiFi options are shown on the right side of the screen.
4. If you want to use a random hardware address for all new connections going forward and not use it for existing known networks, you can just toggle the “Use Random Hardware Addresses” field on this screen to “On.” Alternatively, if you want to use a random hardware address on your Windows 10 computer for a specific network, move on to the following steps.
5. Click “Manage Known Networks” below your existing wireless connection to display a screen showing all of your known wireless connections.
6. Click the wireless network you want to use a random MAC address for and then click “Properties” to display an information screen for that connection.
7. Navigate to the Use Random Addresses for This Network section and click to open the drop-down. You can choose either “On” to just use a single different MAC address when using this wireless network, or “Change Daily” to have your computer’s hardware address change daily.