Important Facts For Prelims
MAC Binding
- 05 Mar 2020
- 3 min read
Why in News
- The authorities have removed ban on social media and restored full internet access in Kashmir on 4th March 2020.
- Among various conditions, the Internet connectivity will be made available “with mac-binding”.
Key Points
- Every device has a Media Access Control (MAC) address, a hardware identification number that is unique to it. While accessing the Internet, every device is assigned an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
- This forces a particular device to access the internet from a specific IP address.
- If either the MAC (Media Access Control) address or the IP address changes, the device will not be able to access the internet.
- MAC-binding will also enable authorities to trace a device on the basis of its online activity.
Media Access Control (MAC) address
- Address that uniquely defines a hardware interface is called MAC (Media Access Control) Address.
- It identifies the physical address of a computer on the internet.
- It is 48 bits (6 bytes) hexadecimal address.
- MAC Address of each computer on a network is unique.
Internet Protocol (IP) address
- The address provided to a connection in a network is called IP (Internet Protocol) address.
- It identifies the connection of a computer on the internet.
- IPv4 is a 32-bit (4 bytes) address, and IPv6 is a 128-bits (16 bytes) address.
- IP address does not uniquely identify a device on a network but, it specifies a particular connection in a network.
- IP address changes each time a device is connected to the network as it is dynamically allocated to the device when it participates in the network.
- Mobile internet services too will be available only on postpaid connections. Prepaid connections will not have access to the internet "unless verified as per the norms applicable to postpaid connections," the order said.
- Further, internet speed is restricted to second generation 2G networks, while the high-speed 4G networks will remain blocked.
