Netstumbler Questions

"public_varies" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@tioat.net...

Use inSSIDer:

Not only does it work better and provide useful information including a time graph, the author updates it way more than never.

I agree with inSSIDer too.

It found and used the built in wireless adapter of my Lenov laptop while Netstumbler refused to admit my laptop even had a wireless option.

I use it to troubleshoot wireless problems caused by other systems on the same or adjacent channels and to locate idle channels when installing new systems.

Then again it is fun to look around to see who is dumb enough to not turn on any form of encryption...

I accidentally left inSSIDer running when I recently ran an errand. I had to drive past houses, apartment complexes, and some businesses during the 5 mile round trip. When I got home, I discovered over 800 SSIDs listed so for me the fun was scrolling through the list to see the funny, outrageous, profane, and creative names people had given their networks.

That's strange! What laptop, what wireless adapter?

I haven't used Netstumbler in 16~20 months. I don't remember having any problem with it. According to Wikipedia NetStumbler had a 6 year run and it really wasn't until inSSIDer showed up that we realized what it was missing.

"public_varies" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@tioat.net:

I see you got alot of answers from some spammer promoting his program, but little else. What a lame group this is.

I have a Lenov 3000 G530 running Windows 7 with a Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter.

It's possible I may have missed something in the Netstumbler setup somewhere but I gave up after a couple of hours trying to make it work.

Most likely the problem was a lack of support for the Broadcom chip set used in my wireless adapter. Sure I could have spent the money to buy a different wireless adapter but since inSSIDER worked right the first time I loaded it I figured why waste the money.

If/when a new version of Netstumbler is released I will give it another try but until then I'll use what works with my existing hardware.

[ ... ]

Huh.

What *I* saw was a couple of knowledgeable folks suggesting using inSSIDer instead of Netstumbler. As I hadn't heard of inSSIDer before (but have considerable respect for Metageek), I went ahead and installed it ... and found it to be ... very nice! The graph tracing the BSSIDs' RSSI across time is neat, and the filter function is quite easy to use and powerful.

- Another Spammer

That's exactly what I saw.

There's an FAQ on Netstumbler.org web site, but I suggest using a different program. Netstumbler is rather old, and had not been updated for many years. Alternatives:

1. If you're running Vista or Windoze 7, try: start -> run -> cmd wlan show networks mode=bssid There's also a fancy wrapper for the above command:
2. WiFiHopper

This is normally a paid program. However, when the trial period expires, the "stumbler" function of the program continues to operate. Only the connection manager is disabled. However, I've had one problem with this program. It installs a "shim" in the IP stack, which has interfered with some other programs I like to run, such as WireShark.

1. inSSIDer

As previously mentioned. It works very nicely and is what I use on Windoze machines this week.

1. NetSurveyor

Lots of nice looking graphs.

1. There are variety of add on programs called "wireless connection managers". These are intended to act as replacements for Microsoft Wireless Zero Config. They usually add a sniffer like function for finding wireless access points. One advantage of these is that they usually identify multiple access points which have the same SSID. For example:

More:

1. WirelessMon

$49.

1. Heatmapper

Not exactly a Stumbler like utility, but still intesting.

For Macintosh there is iStumbler, KisMAC, CoconutWiFi, AirRadar and WiFi Scanner. Last time I checked, the old MacStumbler had not been updated for the Intel platform.

Fred

Linux shines in the "stumbler" area. Kismet, aircrack-ng, wireshark (in linux, it supports your chipset in monitor mode). Might be an idea to try it. There are bootable versions out there, like backtrack. Search

[]'s

And to whoever took the time to introduce me to inSSIDer back when I was running Netstumbler, thank you!