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Originally Posted by rsot A lot of debate on this MAC identification by Amazon - quite a few computer specialists have indicated that Az does not see the MAC... |
Yes, it does seem to be a hot topic. I will chime in w/ my comments...
I have a background in telephony and networking (it is my day job). I don't know why some people think Amazon can see your computer's MAC address. It goes against everything we were taught in school (mainly the tcp/ip protocol stack and the osi model).
The OSI model is the backbone of network architecture. It defines how one device can communicate to another.
OSI Model
Application Layer
Presentation Layer
Session Layer
Transport Layer
Network Layer
Data Layer
Physical Layer
Let's use the most common example (home network). Your home network is considered a LAN (local area network). It has a modem and a wifi router. As we all know, you are typically assigned an IP from your ISP (such as Comcast or Verizon). Your wifi router assigns private IPs (192.168.0.0/24) to each of your devices.
What happens when you browse a web page?
Your default gateway (physical layer) sends the request through your computer's MAC (data layer). The request to display the web page is sent through your network card (data layer). Your computer then sends the request the appropriate web server (network layer).
To open the communication to the web server, request goes through TCP (transport layer). The web browser opens a tcp connection to the web server (session layer) to display the html page to you. The web browser then converts it to a readable format (presentation layer). The remote server which has the web page stored displays on your browser (application layer).
This may be the long way of saying it in a post, but
Amazon is on the "back end" of the OSI model and
cannot detect anything in the physical or data link layers. They can't tell if you're using a CAT5 or CAT6 cable to connect to your router...impossible.
When others say Amazon can see your MAC address...this is partly true. They can see your router's MAC address. Your router's MAC is transmitted within the TCP/IP stack. But they cannot see your computer's MAC address.
I will say, they will LINK you using browser fingerprinting methods. Your browser stores information about your computer that Amazon uses to detect you. This is far more advanced than cookies and you need to pay closer attention to your browser fingerprint than your computer's MAC.