Why did i disable IPv6 on my Mac?
There are many reasons why IPv6 on a Mac makes a lot of sense. However, since I am running a classic IPv4 network, including best practice security controls on IPv4, i do not want to worry about any additional work because of IPv6. I simply prefer to disable IPv6 on my network, including my Mac OSX devices. With this how to I share with you How to disable IPv6 on a Mac OSX.
How to disable IPv6 on a Mac OSX:
0. This is the most important step for any worst case scenario: Backup the Mac before executing any command.
1. start a terminal
2. execute the below command that will deactivate IPv6 on the WiFi interface
networksetup -set6off Wi-Fi
3. execute the below command that will deactivate IPv6 on the Ethernet interface
networksetup -setv6off Ethernet
4. Thats already it. Nothing more to be done. No IPv6 worry anymore…
Additional network interfaces?
Please note: If you have installed additional network interfaces on top of the standard network devices, than you like to consider whether you like to disable IPv6 on these interfaces as well.
What about other network devices?
This is a good question! In my case, i disabled IPv6 everywhere, whether its my Mac, whether its my network switch or my firewall. I simply did deactivate it. On top, on my firewall, i block all IPv6 packets to keep the network clean from IPv6. New devices are the only worry I have with this approach. I need to keep in mind, that I also like to disable IPv6 on all my new devices.
What the … is IPv6?
You think i wrote a great blog but you also think what the … is IPv6? Well, thats a good question. In simple words, IPv6 or Internet Protocol version 6 is a next generation protocol for the Internet. It brings multiple advantages and addresses one of the main problem of the currently most used protocal that is IPv4 or Internet Protocol version 4 which is providing enough unique IP Addresses. If you run a private network, not available on the Internet, than you most likely have no problem running it without IPv6.
