Check out our guide to learn about Virgin Media MAC filtering and find out how to set up MAC filters on your network.
MAC address filtering is a security measure you can implement on your broadband router to limit devices that can access your network. MAC stands for Media Access Control. A MAC address is a unique 12-character address made of both letters ad numbers that identifies a device, like a laptop or computer.
When you set up a MAC address filter on your network, you give your wireless network a set list of specific MAC addresses that can access your network or a list of MAC addresses that you want to block, preventing foreign or unwanted devices from accessing your home network.
Many devices will have the MAC address printed on the case or on the packaging. Look for an address made from six pairs of letters and numbers shown in the format of XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX: or XX-XX-XX-XX-XX-XX.
If for any reason you can’t find the MAC address on the packaging or case, there are other ways to find it.
If for any reason you still can’t find the MAC address of the device, there is another way to obtain it. When the device is connected to the Super Hub (either via Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi) you can find it in the Trusted Devices list. From here you can click on the radio button next to the device in order to capture its MAC address and then add a MAC filter.
If you accidentally block a device that you wish to use on your network, you can use a separate device with network access to change the settings. Simply follow the previous steps to get to the MAC Filtering menu in your browser. From here you can edit your filters and either add or remove a device.
Alternatively, you can reset your Virgin Media Hub which will remove all MAC filters.
For the most part, MAC address filtering is a secure way to manage the devices accessing your network. However, it cannot serve as an effective defence against malicious hackers. This is because MAC addresses are fairly public, and it is possible for a hacker to obtain your MAC address and imitate it to gain access to your network. For that reason, MAC filters can only tackle low-level threats to your network.
There are a lot of reasons why you might want to add MAC filters to your wireless network. The most obvious reason would be to prevent devices that you don’t own from accessing your network and risking exposure to viruses or malware.
Another reason why you might want to use MAC filters is to block certain devices from using the network at certain times. With a Virgin Media Hub, you can specify the time and the day you want your MAC filters active, which can be useful for monitoring your family’s use of the internet. For example, you might want to give your children a curfew for using the internet, in which case you can block their phone or computer’s access to the internet at night.
MAC address filtering is not the ultimate solution to protecting your network, but it can add an extra layer of protection. These filters give you greater control over who has access to your network and when, making it easier to monitor potential threats.
However, for the best network protection, it’s important that you also keep your network password safe, protect your device with antivirus software, and have your network firewalls up to date with the latest version.