Wow! A very big thanks to all who responded. Very comprehensive and
informative.
--
HTH,
Curt
Windows Support Center
www.aumha.org
Practically Nerded,...
http://dundats.mvps.org/Index.htm
<miso@sushi.com> wrote in message
news:1189497036.202286.153330@22g2000hsm.googlegro ups.com...
| On Sep 10, 9:09 pm, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
| > "Curt Christianson" <curtchrist...@NOSPAM.Yahoo.com> hath wroth:
| >
| > >Can somebody recommend a good "wireless sniffer" to see what's running
in my
| > >neighborhood? I'm running XP SP2. I'm currently using "Netstumbler"
as it
| > >shows my wi-fi S/N ratio.
| > >Is NetStumbler good enough?
| >
| > Netstumber will display access points and ad-hoc networks. It will
| > NOT display access points that have SSID broadcast turned off,
| > infrastructure clients, or non-802.11 radios. Netstumbler is an
| > "active scanner" that works by transmitting a probe request packet,
| > and listening for the response. If the 802.11 device doesn't feel
| > like responding, Netstumbler does not show anything.
| >
| > Somewhat better is Kismet running on Linux. There are various Linux
| > LiveCD's that include Kismet, such as Backtrack:
| > <<http://www.remote-exploit.org/backtrack.html>
| > With a LiveCD, there's no need to install Linux on your laptop. Just
| > boot the cdrom and you're running Linux. However, be sure to check if
| > your wireless card or device is supported by Backtrack (or Knoppix).
| >
| > Kismet is a "passive scanner". It doesn't transmit at all and just
| > listens to packets going by. I can detect access points, wireless
| > clients, ad-hoc networks, including access points that don't broadcast
| > their SSID. However, Kismet can't do anything for non-802.11 sources
| > of RF.
| >
| > For non-802.11 (microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc) see list at:
| > <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#Interference>
| > To see those, you need some type of spectrum analyzer. The cheapest
| > is Wi-Spy at:
| > <http://www.metageek.net>
| > I have one of the early models. Basically, it's a 2.4GHz wireless
| > mouse receiver, with custom firmware that produces a 1MHz resolution
| > spectrum analyzer. It's not very sensitive, lacks an external
| > antenna, has poor dynamic range, but is really cheap. The new and
| > improved version is suppose to be better, but I haven't tried it.
| >
| > There are competing products such as:
| > <http://www.nutsaboutnets.com>
| >
| > There are also spectrum analyzers based on the Proxim Harmony
| > frequency hopping 802.11 PCMCIA card. I have several of these. They
| > are very insensitive, very slow on the sweep, don't work with XP, and
| > require a difficult to find antenna connector. Not recommended.
| >
| > There are other hand held spectrum analyzers available. I can supply
| > a shopping list if you want. However, most start at about $1200. If
| > you want to buy a used spectrum analyzer on eBay, look for a Tektronix
| > 492 spectrum analyzer, which covers up to 22GHz and has reasonable
| > sensitivity. Figure on $1500 to $2000.
| >
| > --
| > Jeff Liebermann je...@cruzio.com
| > 150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
| > Santa Cruz CA 95060http://802.11junk.com
| > Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
|
| I found the biggest difficulty with kismet is the conf file. While I
| have it running, I have to admit how I got it running would not be
| easy to explain. For one thing, you don't run it as root, but you sort
| of need to be root to start kismet. [Of course it is very likely to be
| pilot error. ] I find that I need to log in as the user (i.e. not
| root), but then I need to start kismet in a terminal window that was
| superusered over to root.
|
| Kismet is an order of magnitude more informative than netstumbler,
| but you have to earn your stripes.
|
| Now that wifi equipped phones are coming on the market, you can hope
| some hackers adapt them to sniffers.
|
Wireless sniffer 
Linear Mode
