MAC addresses aren't part of the discussion, simply because they never travel beyond your local network, and they can't be hidden as they're simply required for networking to work. Many network adapters allow you to override the MAC address, but even so it still identifies your computer on the local network.
IP addresses are also required for networking to work. The network has to know what computer to send data to. You can, in many cases, use things like anonymization services and the like to appear to be coming from a different IP address, but that doesn't change the fact that your machine is still reachable by some IP address.
Merely being connected to the internet, by whatever address you happen to use, requires that you take steps to stay safe. There's ultimately no way to completely "hide" your IP address without disconnecting from the network. What you should be doing are the classical steps to internet safety: get behind a router, keep your system up to date, run anti-malware scans, backup regularly and so on.
Since I know it'll come up, and as I've discussed over and over and over and over again, an IP address does not allow someone to find out your physical location or identity without law enforcement intervention. Similarly, you cannot find out someone else's physical location or identity without involving the authorities.
IP addresses are also required for networking to work. The network has to know what computer to send data to. You can, in many cases, use things like anonymization services and the like to appear to be coming from a different IP address, but that doesn't change the fact that your machine is still reachable by some IP address.
Merely being connected to the internet, by whatever address you happen to use, requires that you take steps to stay safe. There's ultimately no way to completely "hide" your IP address without disconnecting from the network. What you should be doing are the classical steps to internet safety: get behind a router, keep your system up to date, run anti-malware scans, backup regularly and so on.
Since I know it'll come up, and as I've discussed over and over and over and over again, an IP address does not allow someone to find out your physical location or identity without law enforcement intervention. Similarly, you cannot find out someone else's physical location or identity without involving the authorities.