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poke smot!
floccinocci floofinator


Registered: 01/08/03
Posts: 5,248
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Fuss over CPU identifier numbers
#2988339 - 08/10/04 08:32 PM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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I find it funny that a big deal was made over unique identifier numbers built into pentiums. If people are looking for anonymity and don't want unique id's built into their computer, they should look to network cards first.
Long before the pentium ID system was in place, a standard had been set for the communication of frames of data between NICs. In order for this to work properly, each NIC has to have its own unique MAC address.
Funny how Windows itself has had an API call built in for who knows how long, that is based on that MAC address, to provide a GUID - or globally unique identifier. So unique identifiers have been around since before the pentium, and it is a requirement of simple PC networking to have these.
What's the big deal with Intel doing that? Software can access unique identifiers regardless of the pentium having a unique id. Not to mention, unique serial numbers for hard drives, etc.
Edited by poke smot! (09/07/20 01:47 PM)
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Barbi
Plastic Person

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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: poke smot!]
#2989802 - 08/11/04 04:26 AM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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MAC's can be changed.
CPUID's cannot.
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poke smot!
floccinocci floofinator


Registered: 01/08/03
Posts: 5,248
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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers *DELETED* [Re: Barbi]
#2990041 - 08/11/04 06:40 AM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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Post deleted by poke smot!Reason for deletion: x
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Barbi
Plastic Person

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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: poke smot!]
#2990179 - 08/11/04 07:46 AM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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and the average user doesnt care about the intel CPu markings and crap. The big fuss was about having the OPTION to turn it on or off.. to CHOOSE to have it read, beacuse companies had well drawn out plans for how to TRACK you with it.
Also, all MAC address's are not unique. There are indeed dupes out there, just a crazy ratio.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero


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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: Barbi]
#2990476 - 08/11/04 09:33 AM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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I never understood the big deal. Sun computers have had a unique 'hostid' (stored on the nvram chip along with other 'cmos' settings) for ages. It makes software license code much easier when you can tie a product to a hardware unique identifier. In Sun's case, you just swap out the nvram chip when you swap hardware and all your licensed software still works on the new machine! As for the dolts that were worried about people being tracked through the unique identifier... not having a unique hardware identifier has made a really big difference... not. Say it with me, c-o-o-k-i-e-s. Besides which, tracking software would require OS and application support in order to work... why limit the hardware options rather than choose software that is designed to prevent data-mining. > Also, all MAC address's are not unique. There are indeed dupes out there, just a crazy ratio. http://standards.ieee.org/faqs/OUI.html
Quote:
An OUI / "company_id" is a 24-bit globally unique assigned number referenced by various standards. For example, the OUI is used in the family of 802 LAN standards: Ethernet, Token Ring, etc. The OUI is usually concatenated with another 24 bits that are assigned by that Organization in order to make a 48-bit number that is unique to a particular piece of hardware, to make it possible to uniquely address that hardware. For example, the Ethernet MAC Address is such a 48-bit number, unique to one particular Ethernet interface. The OUI is usually concatenated with 24 or 40 bits to form an EUI-48 or an EUI-64. There are other uses of the OUI however, such as its use as a company identifier in the SNAP protocol.
Quote:
The OUI defined in IEEE Std 802-2001 can be used to generate 48 bit Universal LAN MAC addresses to identify LAN and MAN stations uniquely, and Protocol Identifiers to identify public and private protocols. These are used in Local and Metropolitan Area Network applications. The relevant standards include CSMA/CD (IEEE Std 802.3, ISO 8802-3), Token Bus (IEEE Std 802.4, ISO 8802-4), Token Ring (IEEE Std 802.5, ISO/IEC 8802-5), IEEE Std 802.6 (ISO/IEC DIS 8802-6), FDDI (ISO 9314-2) and WLAN (IEEE 802.11, ISO/IEC 8802-11).
Edit: not that everybody follows standards... I would be surprised if there aren't a few duplicates out there in the world.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
Edited by Seuss (08/11/04 09:47 AM)
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TheChiaPetFarmer
Chia Smeller

Registered: 08/13/04
Posts: 61
Loc: Iceland
Last seen: 19 years, 3 months
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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: poke smot!]
#3005293 - 08/14/04 07:36 PM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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MAC address can be changed quite easily using software:
http://www.klcconsulting.net/smac/
If you're really worried about being tracked, use proxy servers and change them on a regular basis. Proxy explained:
http://www.stayinvisible.com/index.pl
Free Proxy server list:
http://www.proxy4free.com/
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Le_Canard
The Duk Abides

Registered: 05/16/03
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That's a great proxy list. Thanks!
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TheChiaPetFarmer
Chia Smeller

Registered: 08/13/04
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Loc: Iceland
Last seen: 19 years, 3 months
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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: poke smot!]
#3014515 - 08/17/04 03:56 PM (19 years, 9 months ago) |
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No prob 
Gotta protect your privacy.
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debianlinux
Myconerd - DBK



Registered: 12/09/02
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when the cpu and network interface are permanent, embedded parts of the "motherboard" and the "motherboard" has an effectively unalterable ID# and computers are as ubiquitous as telephones and microwaves then we will have a problem. i would expect such identifying systems to be legislated into our lives within the next decade.
Edited by debianlinux (08/23/04 11:49 AM)
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flameclown
totality is amust


Registered: 04/04/04
Posts: 956
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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers *DELETED* [Re: debianlinux]
#3048360 - 08/25/04 11:37 AM (19 years, 8 months ago) |
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Post deleted by flameclownReason for deletion: [this post is damn old]
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z@z.com
Libertarian
Registered: 10/13/02
Posts: 2,876
Loc: ATL
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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: flameclown]
#3048566 - 08/25/04 12:42 PM (19 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
flameclown said: thats a year scary thought. what was that book that they had the Telescreens and they were always at war. i loved that book but I cant remember the name.
1984.
-------------------- "Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis "I would rather be exposed to the inconveniencies attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson
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curious4
member
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Re: Fuss over CPU identifier numbers [Re: poke smot!]
#3061154 - 08/28/04 05:11 AM (19 years, 8 months ago) |
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yeah, great book. simple but fun.
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