NetStumbler is one of the more common tools for locating 802.11 wireless networks. The software is designed to detect any 802.11a/b/g/n wireless network that your wireless network adapter supports. Note that NetStumbler is not currently being updated and does not officially support newer wireless protocols. The software can optionally use GPS location information to map out the location of the APs it detects. NetStumbler does not have many options and is simple to use (see FIGURE 8-1).

Although NetStumbler software offers a good amount of functionality, it is not the only product that can perform wireless network scanning. Another piece of software that can do the same thing is inSSIDer. According to MetaGeek, the makers of inSSIDer, features unique to inSSIDer include the following:

• Can be used with multiple current versions of Microsoft Windows

• Uses the Native Wi-Fi application programming interface (API) and current wireless network card

• Detects and supports the latest 802.11 protocols

• Can group by Media Access Control (MAC) address, SSID, channel, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), and “time last seen”

• The inSSIDer tool can do the following:

• Inspect your WLAN and surrounding networks to troubleshoot competing APs

• Track the strength of received signals in dBm (a measurement of decibels) over time

• Filter APs in an easy-to-use format

• Highlight APs for areas with high Wi-Fi concentration

• Export Wi-Fi and GPS data to a Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file to view in Google Earth

The inSSIDer interface is shown in FIGURE 8-2.

Once a target has been identified and its identifying information noted, the attack can begin.