Dialsoft · Windows tools for IT technicians

MAC Scout

Finds every computer, printer, phone, camera and gadget on a network and shows its IP address, MAC address and manufacturer. Spots IP conflicts and cloned or made-up MAC addresses, keeps notes and scan history per client location, and has ping, telnet and SSH built in.

⬇ Download MAC Scout 1.8.3 What's new

Version 1.8.3 · released November 2, 2026 · 3.6 MB · Windows 10 & 11 or Server 2012+ · requires .NET Framework 4.8 · portable · updates itself

SHA-256: A9A2EF47054B0C053F4ED00198747F60442B8368D293C73D272AF2F21A61D090

Getting started

System requirements

  • Windows 10 or 11 (32- or 64-bit), or Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2 or later with the desktop installed. Server Core is not supported.
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 is required. Up-to-date Windows 10 and 11 already have it. On Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016 or Windows 8.1, install it first. It's free from Microsoft: .NET Framework 4.8 download. Choose Runtime > Offline installer and restart when asked. If it's missing, MAC Scout offers to download Microsoft's offline installer and install it for you the first time you start it, after checking the installer is genuinely signed by Microsoft. Windows usually needs a restart, and MAC Scout opens again by itself afterwards.
  • Administrator rights on the remote computers for the WMI and NET API scan methods and remote shutdown. Everything else runs as a normal user.

1. Download and run

Save MacScout.exe to a folder you can write to, such as Desktop, Documents or C:\Tools (not Program Files), so it can update itself. Double-click it. There is no installer.

2. Scan

Choose the addresses to scan (your own network is a good start) and press Scan. Every device appears with its IP, MAC address, manufacturer and type. A guided tour shows you around on the first start.

3. It stays current

MAC Scout checks this page for new versions, downloads them in the background, verifies them and installs them when you close it. Nothing to do; switch it off in Preferences > Updates if you prefer.

What's new in 1.8.3

  • Installs .NET Framework 4.8 for you: on a computer that doesn't have it (Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2 come with .NET 4.5), MAC Scout now explains what's missing and offers to download Microsoft's official offline installer (about 112 MB), checks that it is genuinely signed by Microsoft, and installs it (one administrator prompt). When setup needs a restart, MAC Scout asks before restarting Windows and opens again by itself afterwards. Say no, or if anything goes wrong, and it offers Microsoft's download page instead.

Under the hood

Language and platform

  • Written in C#, using the latest C# language features.
  • Runs on the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 with Windows Forms, which is built into every copy of Windows 10 and 11. That is why there is nothing to install.
  • Compiled with Microsoft's modern Roslyn compiler.

One file, everything inside

  • A single 3.6 MB program holds everything.
  • It contains the full IEEE manufacturer registry: 54,000+ MAC address prefixes, compressed.
  • It contains 129 Microsoft Fluent icons, each pre-drawn at 7 sizes so they stay sharp at any display scaling.
  • The SSH library (SSH.NET, MIT licence) is embedded too and loaded straight from memory.

Network protocols, hand-built

  • Five ways to find devices: ARP through the Windows IP Helper API, NetBIOS name queries (RFC 1001/1002), NET API, WMI, and SNMP v1 with MAC Scout's own encoder and decoder.
  • The scanner is multi-threaded and runs up to 256 queries at once.
  • Telnet option negotiation (RFC 854 and related standards) is MAC Scout's own code.

Its own terminal

  • A VT100/xterm emulator written from scratch drives the telnet and SSH windows.
  • It supports 256-colour and true-colour programs, and full-screen apps like top, nano and less.
  • A BBS mode uses IBM code page 437, DOS colours and blinking, and draws ANSI art cell-perfect.

Safe self-updates

  • Every download is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint published with it. A damaged file is thrown away.
  • The new version replaces the running program using a Windows rename trick. The old copy is kept until the next start, so a failed update can't leave you with nothing.
  • Settings are saved as JSON in %APPDATA%\MacScout, written to a temporary file first so a crash never corrupts them.

How it was made

  • Designed by Marc Frega (Dialsoft LLC, theITguy.com) for the car-dealer networks his team looks after.
  • Programmed with Claude by Anthropic.
  • The code is about 13,500 lines across 42 source files, with nearly 2,000 lines of comments, and every file carries a header.
  • The layout is tested from 100% to 200% Windows display scaling.

Release notes

1.8.3 latest
  • Installs .NET Framework 4.8 for you: on a computer that doesn't have it (Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2 come with .NET 4.5), MAC Scout now explains what's missing and offers to download Microsoft's official offline installer (about 112 MB), checks that it is genuinely signed by Microsoft, and installs it (one administrator prompt). When setup needs a restart, MAC Scout asks before restarting Windows and opens again by itself afterwards. Say no, or if anything goes wrong, and it offers Microsoft's download page instead.
1.8.2
  • The activity log and status bar now say "Found 19 devices" instead of "computers", since MAC Scout finds printers, phones, cameras and everything else too. "Couldn't find MAC address" messages now say the device may be switched off or not answering.
1.8.1
  • System requirements spelled out everywhere (Help, About box, manual, download page): Windows 10 or 11, or Windows Server 2012 / 2012 R2 or later, with the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8. Up-to-date Windows 10 and 11 already have it; on Windows Server 2012, 2012 R2, 2016 or Windows 8.1, install it first from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework/net48 (Runtime, Offline installer).
  • On a PC without .NET Framework 4.8, a clear message now appears instead of MAC Scout starting and then failing.
1.8.0
  • Automatic updates: MAC Scout now updates itself. It checks dialsoft.com a few seconds after it starts and every 6 hours while open, downloads a new version in the background, checks its SHA-256 fingerprint, and installs it when you close MAC Scout. Or click the status bar to restart into it right away. Settings, locations and notes are kept. Nothing to set up; switch it off in Preferences > Updates if you prefer to install by hand.
  • After an update, the status bar says so and links to what's new.
  • Fixed: a router or firewall doing "proxy ARP" (Cisco does by default) made one MAC address show up on hundreds of IP addresses, each flagged "Same MAC on ... IP addresses" and "IP changed". MAC Scout now keeps the router, leaves the phantom addresses out and explains why in the activity log. Preferences > Scanning can show them again.
  • Share MAC Scout (Help ribbon, File menu or About box): send someone the download link by e-mail, Gmail, Outlook on the web, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, text message (Phone Link), Teams, a Facebook post or LinkedIn. Edit the message first; your name is remembered. Nothing is sent until you press Send.
1.7.1
  • Credits list tidied up.
1.7.0
  • Built-in SSH client (Tools > SSH, or right-click a device > Network tools > ssh): password, keyboard-interactive or key-file login, colour xterm terminal that resizes with the window, full-screen programs (top, nano, less), copy/paste. The first connection shows the device fingerprint to trust; a changed fingerprint gets a clear warning. User names are remembered per device; passwords are never saved.
  • Choose the browser for web pages: Preferences > Browser (any installed browser or another program, with optional extra options such as --incognito), or quickly from Open as > Open web pages with.
  • Credits updated: SSH.NET (MIT) is built in.
1.6.2
  • Help > Credits & licenses: every third-party component, data source and standard MAC Scout uses, with the full licence texts. Also linked from the About box.
  • Copyright now shown as Dialsoft LLC.
  • Source code: every file has a header, and classes, methods and the tricky parts (network protocols, terminal, scanner threads) are now commented throughout.
1.6.1
  • Ping window redesigned: status tiles (online / no reply and for how long, last reply, average, packet loss), a reply-time graph with a scale, and a reply list with icons. Options open in a panel under the address bar and apply while pinging.
  • Telnet: new BBS mode (Type: BBS) - CP437 characters, DOS colours, blinking text, fixed 80 x 25 screen, and ANSI art drawn cell-perfect (blocks, shading and box lines join with no gaps). Tells the BBS it is an ANSI terminal; Enter sends a plain CR. The choice is remembered.
  • Telnet: box and block characters are drawn the same cell-perfect way in network-device mode too.
1.6.0
  • Built-in Ping window: no command prompt or ping.exe needed. Runs until stopped (or a set count), live reply-time graph, lost replies in red, totals, Copy.
  • Built-in Telnet window: no telnet.exe needed (it is not installed on Windows by default). VT100 terminal with colours and menus, copy/paste, scroll-back. Clear messages when a port is closed or blocked, so it also works as a port tester (any port).
  • Network tools > ping and telnet now open these windows; also on the Tools tab (Built-in > Ping / Telnet). Existing tool lists are updated automatically.
1.5.8
  • Admin tools: Shutdown/Restart and Send message no longer block the main window. With several devices selected, a window opens for each one at the same time (titled with the device name) instead of one after another.
1.5.7
  • The Adapter column (network card name) now stays hidden until a scan actually finds adapter names - only the WMI and SNMP methods can. It appears by itself after such a scan, in its usual place.
1.5.6
  • Fixed: buttons beside a text box (such as Lookup in the MAC lookup window) sat higher than the box and stuck out past the edge. They now line up exactly.
1.5.5
  • New device type window: shorter label (examples now shown inside the name box), wider window and more room for each icon name.
1.5.4
  • Fixed: small windows (Rename location, Lookup MAC and others) cut off their text and OK/Cancel buttons with larger Windows display scaling or fonts. They now size themselves to fit.
1.5.3
  • Problems explained in plain English: point at a device's Problems cell for what it means and what to do, or right-click > What does this problem mean? to keep it open.
  • Pointing at the "N problems" link under Devices found lists which devices have which problem.
  • IP conflicts now name the other device, not just its MAC address.
1.5.2
  • Fixed: the Method choices (ARP, Netbios, NET API, WMI, SNMP) could be selected several at once and could not be turned off. Now exactly one is selected; arrow keys move between them.
1.5.1
  • Tutorial button now always visible at the top right of the ribbon; the tour's last step points to it.
  • Location tabs redesigned: each tab is a distinct card on a darker band, with a clearer selected tab.
  • Device types: double-click a device's Type cell (or Home > Device type) to change it.
  • Add your own device types with your own icon (Tools > Device types).
  • Type rules: "every device from this manufacturer is a ..." - teach MAC Scout once and it applies to every location and future scan (Tools > Type rules).
  • New built-in types for dealerships: card terminal / POS, time clock, key cabinet, door / access control, digital sign, kiosk, scanner, shop / diagnostic equipment.
1.5.0
  • Guided tour with speech bubbles on first start (Help > Tutorial to run it again; 'Don't show this tour at startup' checkbox).
  • Left column tightened: the Target and Devices found boxes fit their contents, so Method stays visible in smaller windows.
1.4.0
  • Print, Print preview and Save as PDF (File menu, Home and Location tabs, Ctrl+P).
  • "First seen" column shown by default: the date each MAC address was first found at this location.
  • Preferences moved to Ctrl+, (Ctrl+P now prints).
  • About: created by Marc Frega, built with Claude by Anthropic (claude.ai).
1.3.2
  • The version number is shown in the top menu next to Help (click it for About / Check for updates).
1.3.1
  • Fixed: Start IP showed only ".1" when the program opened (the box was scrolled to the end).
  • Fixed: the bookmark button next to B and C was cut off on some screens.
1.3.0
  • Check for updates (Help tab, File menu and About box), with an optional quiet check at start-up.
  • Scan history per location: compare any two scans (new / gone / changed devices), first and last seen.
  • Problems column: IP conflicts, cloned or made-up MAC addresses, gateway MAC changes (possible ARP spoofing).
  • Device type icons (Microsoft Fluent icons) with manual override.
  • Big live "Devices found" counter.
  • Layout rebuilt to line up at every Windows display scale.