When this FingerPrint option flag is set, the first Network Interface Card (NIC) on the host machine is queried for its MAC address. Most NICs return the full in this string. This value is physically stored in hardware and cannot be changed in software without re-configuring the hardware.

Note that in the case of some laptop PC-cards (swap-able NIC cards), some PnP devices and even some VPN software, the MAC address of a physical (permanent) NIC card cannot be differentiated from the virtual cards that these devices and systems install on the machine.  In some cases we have found that the offending software hijacks the mini-port driver of all the cards on the system and provides its own information. We have even seen some routers which supply their own VPN software return a different MAC address every time it is queried.  Be aware that in cases like this the MAC address may not be a reliable FingerPrint flag for the system and you should design your licenses accordingly.   

Typical Internal Values

• "00:02:44:4E:99:E4"

• "00:80:FA:21:01:B2"

Operating System and Security

This flag will successfully query the NIC for its MAC address on all versions of Windows. No special user permissions are required.