Develop Reference

Obtained different MAC Addresses during offline and online?

I'm coding a part where the software need to obtain MAC Address of the current PC and found this solution which works for offline too:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/15784105/9641721
I obtained the same MAC Address using method 1 but somehow get different Addresses during offline vs online when using method 2, anyone can explain to me why? FYI my laptop only has one network card.
Method 2:
public static string GetMACAddress2()
{
NetworkInterface[] nics = NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
String sMacAddress = string.Empty;
foreach (NetworkInterface adapter in nics)
{
if (sMacAddress == String.Empty)// only return MAC Address from first card
{
sMacAddress = adapter.GetPhysicalAddress().ToString();
}
}
return sMacAddress;
}
My result:
Online:
Method1: C85B76FD53xx
Method2: 6A00E3D94Exx
Offline:
Method1: C85B76FD53xx
Method2: C85B76FD53xx
Thanks.

Get MAC Address using ManagementObjectSearcher

I am trying to develop a registration algorithm in C#. I used MAC address of the client machine to generate the request code. The function is shown below. But in Windows 7, This function shows a NullRererenceException in this line.
mac = mo["MACAddress"].ToString();
public string GetMACAddress()
{
string mac = null;
ManagementObjectSearcher mos = new ManagementObjectSearcher("select * from Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration");
foreach (ManagementObject mo in mos.Get())
{
mac = mo["MACAddress"].ToString();
break;
}
return mac;
}
What is the most reliable way to get MAC address, in Windows 7 and Windows 8, using C#, in order to develop an activation algorithm?

Not all object content the MAC address so need to check which one dose have the MAC
you can do some thing like this
string macAddress = String.Empty;
foreach (ManagementObject mo in mos.Get())
{
object tempMacAddrObj = MO["MacAddress"];
if (tempMacAddrObj == null) //Skip objects without a MACAddress
{
continue;
}
if (macAddress == String.Empty) // only return MAC Address from first card that has a MAC Address
{
macAddress = tempMacAddrObj.ToString();
}
objMO.Dispose();
}

For the purpose of license activation I would actually recommend to use something else (or in addition) to the MAC address, as this is easily spoofed. Here is a very nice C# tutorial on how to obtain a "hardware fingerprint" that should solve your problem: http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/28678/Generating-Unique-Key-Finger-Print-for-a-Computer

How can I find out a COM port number of a bluetooth device in c#?

My company developed a device that communicates with a PC via Bluetooth using a virtual COM port.
Now we need a user to pair a device with a PC (MS Windows OS) first and then enter it's com port number manually into our application(I bet 95% of users will fail on this taks).
So I'd like my application to present a user with a list of paired bluetooth devices (a list of their "friendly names") and after that I'd like to find out the selecded device's COM port number automatically.
How can I do it in c#? (a solution independent of installed bluetooth stack is appreciated).
Thanks in advance.

See my answer at Widcomm bluetooth : how to open the virtual COM for my understanding of the licence: using the binary version is free for commercial use. And, also that I'm maintainer of the library.
So a brief slight digression. I'm not a big fan of virtual COM ports. It always seems much easier to use a direct 'sockets' connection, rather than attempt to setup a COM port, and try to find what name it was created as (see below!), and then have to open a SerialPort to use it, and then if the connection is lost one doesn't know and have simply to keep retrying... With the library its so much easier to just to create and use that direct Bluetooth connection!
However you may want a solution to your current task at the moment. :-) So, use WMI to find the current COM ports in place and see if any of them are for your device. For example in PowerShell:
C:\> Get-WmiObject -query "select DeviceID,PNPDeviceID from Win32_SerialPort"
...
...
DeviceID : COM66
PNPDeviceID : BTHENUM\{00001101-0000-1000-8000-00805F9B34FB}\7&1D80ECD3&0&00803A686519_C00000003
In that big long string one sees the address of the target device: 00803A686519. One can use WMI from .NET, run that query, filter the ones with "BTHENUM", and then parse out the address.
If you the do need to create a new Bluetooth virtual COM port, use 32feet.NET's BluetoothDeviceInfo.SetServiceState(BluetoothService.SerialPort) API. See the "Bluetooth Serial Ports" section in the User Guide e.g. at http://www.alanjmcf.me.uk/comms/bluetooth/32feet.NET%20--%20User%20Guide.html, and the class documentation in the release.
Unfortunately the native Win32 API we call does not tell what name of COM port it created! :-( So run the WMI query before and after the call to see what new name appeared (or use System.IO.Ports.SerialPort.GetPortNames as its simpler).
That's all specific to the Microsoft Bluetooth stack. I haven't investigated how other stacks behave in this regard. After a brief check Widcomm's serial ports appear in SerialPort.GetPortNames but not in the WMI query...

First, create a Management Object Searcher to search the WMI database:
ManagementObjectSearcher serialSearcher =
new ManagementObjectSearcher("root\\CIMV2",
"SELECT * FROM Win32_SerialPort");
Next, use LINQ to get all the serial ports into a query:
var query = from ManagementObject s in serialSearcher.Get()
select new { Name = s["Name"], DeviceID = s["DeviceID"], PNPDeviceID = s["PNPDeviceID"] }; // DeviceID -- > PNPDeviceID
You can now print all the COM ports, their friendly names and you can even filter through their PNPDeviceID's to find the bluetooth device address. Here's an example:
foreach (var port in query)
{
Console.WriteLine("{0} - {1}", port.DeviceID, port.Name);
var pnpDeviceId = port.PNPDeviceID.ToString();
if(pnpDeviceId.Contains("BTHENUM"))
{
var bluetoothDeviceAddress = pnpDeviceId.Split('&')[4].Split('_')[0];
if (bluetoothDeviceAddress.Length == 12 && bluetoothDeviceAddress != "000000000000")
{
Console.WriteLine(" - Address: {0}", bluetoothDeviceAddress);
}
}
}

I manage to get the bluetooth name and the COM port by fiddling the registry key
The pseudo code to obtain the bluetooth information is below:
enumerate all the COM port available in the PNP
obtain the device classGuid
search the bluetooth address from the classGuid
when the bluetooth address is known, the bluetooth name can be obtained from the this registry SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BTHPORT\Parameters\Devices
The code is below, just call the GetBluetoothPort(), it will return a list of bluetooth devices, and you could connect them by passing the COM port number to the SerialPort class
public static string[] GetBluetoothPort()
{
Regex regexPortName = new Regex(#"(COM\d+)");
List<string> portList = new List<string>();
ManagementObjectSearcher searchSerial = new ManagementObjectSearcher("SELECT * FROM Win32_PnPEntity");
foreach (ManagementObject obj in searchSerial.Get()) {
string name = obj["Name"] as string;
string classGuid = obj["ClassGuid"] as string;
string deviceID = obj["DeviceID"] as string;
if (classGuid != null && deviceID != null) {
if (String.Equals(classGuid, "{4d36e978-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}", StringComparison.InvariantCulture)) {
string[] tokens = deviceID.Split('&');
if (tokens.Length >= 4) {
string[] addressToken = tokens[4].Split('_');
string bluetoothAddress = addressToken[0];
Match m = regexPortName.Match(name);
string comPortNumber = "";
if (m.Success) {
comPortNumber = m.Groups[1].ToString();
}
if (Convert.ToUInt64(bluetoothAddress, 16) > 0) {
string bluetoothName = GetBluetoothRegistryName(bluetoothAddress);
portList.Add(String.Format("{0} {1} ({2})", bluetoothName, bluetoothAddress, comPortNumber));
}
}
}
}
}
return portList.ToArray();
}
private static string GetBluetoothRegistryName(string address)
{
string deviceName = "";
string registryPath = #"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BTHPORT\Parameters\Devices";
string devicePath = String.Format(#"{0}\{1}", registryPath, address);
using (RegistryKey key = Registry.LocalMachine.OpenSubKey(devicePath)) {
if (key != null) {
Object o = key.GetValue("Name");
byte[] raw = o as byte[];
if (raw != null) {
deviceName = Encoding.ASCII.GetString(raw);
}
}
}
return deviceName;
}

Maybe it is not what you are looking for, and maybe you already found your answer...
I just found a question not exactly like yours but worked for me.. With this one you can find out which one of your COM Ports are from a Bluetooth device:
StackOverflow - Determine if serial port is normal COM or SPP
I hope it helps somehow. If you find out how to do what you wanted, please let me know. Thanks.

So, to get the information about a remote device including its name, using 32feet.NET do:
BluetoothAddress addr = ... ...
BluetoothDeviceInfo info = new BluetoothDeviceInfo(addr);
string name = info.DeviceName;
If not using the library you'll have to P/Invoke Win32's BluetoothGetDeviceInfo.

private static string FindSerialPortForRFIDReaderCore()
{
string serialPort = "";
List<string> ports = new List<string>();
System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher Searcher = new System.Management.ManagementObjectSearcher("Select * from WIN32_SerialPort");
foreach (System.Management.ManagementObject Port in Searcher.Get())
{
if (Port["PNPDeviceID"].ToString().ToUpper().Contains("MacAddress"))
ports.Add(Port["DeviceID"].ToString());
}
if (ports.Count > 1) // There are more than one Serial Ports created for the bluetooth device.
serialPort = ports.OrderByDescending(p => p).FirstOrDefault();
else if(ports.Count == 1)
serialPort = ports[0];
return serialPort;
}

Get IP of my machine C# with virtual machine installed

I want to get the current IP address of the computer that has say 3 virtual machines (VM Ware) installed. I want to get LAN address of that computer.
current code that i have returns me an array but how to identify current computer lan address ?
public static string getThisCompIPAddress()
{
IPAddress[] addresslist = Dns.GetHostAddresses(Dns.GetHostName());
return (addresslist[0].ToString());
}
addresslist returns an array of 3 IP addresses

You could try the NetworkInterface class, and try to match the name or physical address of the LAN connection to find out the real one. Maybe searching within this class and it's members you can find something that suits your needs.
Here is a simple method to provide some usage info:
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
...
static void ViewNetworkInfo()
{
NetworkInterface[] networks = NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
foreach (NetworkInterface nw in networks)
{
Console.WriteLine(nw.Name);
Console.WriteLine(nw.GetPhysicalAddress().ToString());
IPInterfaceProperties ipProps = nw.GetIPProperties();
foreach (UnicastIPAddressInformation ucip in ipProps.UnicastAddresses)
{
Console.WriteLine(ucip.Address.ToString());
}
Console.WriteLine();
}
Console.ReadKey();
}

I've tried all of the solutions above but couldn't get the ip from my "real" machine and not the virtual one. I've managed to use this to get the IP from my virtual machine:
IPAddress[] addresslist = Dns.GetHostAddresses(Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables("%CLIENTNAME%"));
The reason why I used it this way is that the function Dns.GetHostAddresses return the adresses of the given host, so if you use the Dns.GetHostName() function it will return the virtual-machine name and not the local machine, but using the name of the machine where you can find using the: Environment.ExpandEnvironmentVariables("%CLIENTNAME%") you can get the client name and not the virtual-machine name, this way you can get the real IP of your local machine.
I hope this helps.

public static ArrayList getThisCompIPAddress()
{
ArrayList strArrIpAdrs = new ArrayList();
ArrayList srtIPAdrsToReturn = new ArrayList();
addresslist = Dns.GetHostAddresses(Dns.GetHostName());
for (int i = 0; i < addresslist.Length; i++)
{
try
{
long ip = addresslist[i].Address;
strArrIpAdrs.Add(addresslist[i]);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
}
}
foreach (IPAddress ipad in strArrIpAdrs)
{
lastIndexOfDot = ipad.ToString().LastIndexOf('.');
substring = ipad.ToString().Substring(0, ++lastIndexOfDot);
if (!(srtIPAdrsToReturn.Contains(substring)) && !(substring.Equals("")))
{
srtIPAdrsToReturn.Add(substring);
}
}
return srtIPAdrsToReturn;
}
this is 100% working, the real problem was that it was throwing error while calculating Address that returns long. Error Code is 10045

Checking static or dynamic IP address in C# .NET?

I am building a pretty basic form app.
I can get a list of IP addresses available on the local machine. However, I want to also determine how these addresses are obtained (e.g. DHCP or static). How can I tell if a static IP address is configured on the system?
The goal is to inform a novice end-user (who may have no knowledge of the network setup, or how to obtain it) what static IP addresses are available. And, if no static address exist, inform them that one needs to be setup.
TIA

Better use Net.NetworkInformation due to better performance compared to WMI
using System.Net.NetworkInformation;
NetworkInterface[] niAdpaters = NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces();
private Boolean GetDhcp(Int32 iSelectedAdpater)
{
if (niAdpaters[iSelectedAdpater].GetIPProperties().GetIPv4Properties() != null)
{
return niAdpaters[iSelectedAdpater].GetIPProperties().GetIPv4Properties().IsDhcpEnabled;
}
else
{
return false;
}
}

You can use WMI to get network adapter configuration.
For an example, have a look at http://www.codeproject.com/KB/system/cstcpipwmi.aspx. The 'DhcpEnabled' property on the network adapter should tell you if the address is obtained via dhcp or not.

Unfortunately you'll probably have to use WMI. There might be another way, but this is the only way that I know.
This code will output all of the information about every adapter on your system. I think the name is "DHCPEnabled" of the property you want.
ManagementObjectSearcher searcherNetwork =
new ManagementObjectSearcher("root\\CIMV2",
"SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration");
foreach (ManagementObject queryObj in searcherNetwork.Get())
{
foreach (var prop in queryObj.Properties)
{
Console.WriteLine(string.Format("Name: {0} Value: {1}", prop.Name, prop.Value));
}
}

I use two method(s) as follows:
public static string GetLocalIPAddress()
{
var host = Dns.GetHostEntry(Dns.GetHostName());
foreach (var ip in host.AddressList)
{
if (ip.AddressFamily == AddressFamily.InterNetwork)
{
return ip.ToString();
}
}
return "unknown";
}
public static string GetLocalIpAllocationMode()
{
string MethodResult = "";
try
{
ManagementObjectSearcher searcherNetwork = new ManagementObjectSearcher("root\\CIMV2", "SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration");
Dictionary<string, string> Properties = new Dictionary<string, string>();
foreach (ManagementObject queryObj in searcherNetwork.Get())
{
foreach (var prop in queryObj.Properties)
{
if (prop.Name != null && prop.Value != null && !Properties.ContainsKey(prop.Name))
{
Properties.Add(prop.Name, prop.Value.ToString());
}
}
}
MethodResult = Properties["DHCPEnabled"].ToLower() == "true" ? "DHCP" : "Static";
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
ex.HandleException();
}
return MethodResult;
}
GetLocalIpAllocationMode() will tell you whether the ip is static or allocated via dhcp, whereas GetLocalIPAddress() will tell you the local ip itself.

The answers here helped me with my own project, but I had to do some research before I found out how to use the suggested method.
Adding using System.Management; to your code doesn't work by itself. You need to add a reference to System.Management before the namespace will be recognized. (For new people like me who tried this and were getting the error "managementclass could not be found").