8/6/2019 About Macshift

1/3

About Macshift

While looking for a free, scriptable MAC address utility for Windows XP, all I could

find were the a-Mac address changer and SMAC, both GUI programs, and both notfree. Both very much not what I was looking for.

So, armed with my severe disappointment, I set out to create a utility that would meetmy stringent MAC address-changing needs. Specifically, I wanted to be able to make

a set of shortcuts in a toolbar, where each one would give me a different MAC address

quickly and instantly.

Then I set to work, scrolling and clicking through page after page of insufficient

documentation and obscure header files, finding the proper method to change a MAC

address, and lo and behold... I figured it out.

But that really doesn't matter.

What matters now is that you can download this sweet little utility from my website

and use it, free of charge. The source code is included (only a 200-line file), so feelfree to grab it and make modifications, redistribute, etc. I release the source code to

you under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL). I also ask that if you

make any really super-great modifications to it, that you let me know so that I can put

your variation on this page too.

Using Macshift

Usage: macshift [options] [mac-address]

Options:

Switch Description

-i [adapter-name] The adapter name from Network Connections.

-r Uses a random MAC address. This is the default.

-d Restores the original MAC address.

--help Shows this screen.To use Macshift, first download the .zip file and extract its contents to a convenient

place, for example c:\macshift. If you don't care about the source code, feel free todelete the .cpp file, or just leave it there, or print it out and use it to train your

recalcitrant puppy (for more puppy training tips please lookelsewhere). Rememberwhere you extracted it, because it is quite important.

8/6/2019 About Macshift

2/3

Now you must make sure you know the name of the connection you want to change.

For example, the default name for a wireless network adapter is "Wireless NetworkConnection". You can change this in the Network Connections control panel item, by

clicking the network connection, and pressing F2, or right-clicking it and pressing

Rename, or clicking it and clicking it again, slower than you would double-click it.

You can also click it, then go to the File menu and choose Rename. I think that's allthe ways you can rename it, but if you come up with another, please e-mail me so I

can add it here.

If you want to set up a few quick-MAC-change shortcuts, here's what you have to do:

1. Open the folder you extracted macshift to in an Explorer window. Youmay do this any of the following ways:

o Start -> Run -> Type c:\macshift (or wherever you put it) -> PressEnter.

o Pressing Windows Key + E and navigating using your mouse tothe appropriate folder.

o Double-clicking My Computer on your desktop, and usingaforementioned mouse to navigate to the folder.

o Right-clicking your Start button, clicking Explore or Open, andfinding the folder from there.

o Pressing Start -> Find -> Files or Folders and searching formacshift.exe, then right-clicking that entry and clicking Open

Containing Folder.

o Pressing Windows Key + F and searching for macshift.exe asabove.

Stay tuned for more fun and exciting ways to open a folder view.

2. Create a shortcut to macshift.exe by choosing one of these methods:o Select macshift.exe and press Control-S.o Select macshift.exe and Choose New -> Shortcut from the File

menu.

o Right-click-drag macshift.exe into the whitespace in the folderwindow (or anywhere else) and select Create Shortcut from theensuing menu.

o Left-click-drag the macshift.exe into any folder-like windowwhile holding the Control and Shift keys.

3. Modify the shortcut by right-clicking it and selecting Properties, or byselecting it and pressing Alt+Enter.

4. In the Target: box, add necessary command-line parameters to the box.For example, if you wanted to change your adapter named "Wireless" to

8/6/2019 About Macshift

3/3

the MAC 001122334455 (creative, I know, shut up) using macshift.exe

located in c:\macshift, the Target box would read:c:\macshift\macshift.exe -i "Wireless" 001122334455Don't be alarmed by quote marks around the path/macshift.exe part, just

put the parameters outside them as follows (random MAC for adapter

"Ethernet"):"c:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\macshift.exe" -r -i

"Ethernet"Feel free to try your own combinations using either this method or the

interactive command-line as stated in the next step.

If you'd like to try out a few macshift commands, all you need to do is open a console.

You can do this by:

y Clicking Run in your Start menu, and typing cmd and pressing Enter,y As above, but clicking OK in the run box instead of pressing Enter,y Pressing your Windows key and the R key at the same time, and

proceeding as above in regards to the Run box, or

y Navigating to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> CommandPrompt.

Once you've gotten to a command prompt, navigate to the directory you unzipped

using the cd command. Type something like cd c:\macshift and press Enter. Yourprompt should change to reflect this.

You can now invoke macshift however you like. Here are some samples to try:

y macshift -r -i "Wireless"y macshift 012345123456 -i "Bootylicious Network Adapter"y macshift --helpy macshift