gHacks technology news » wi-fi http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:26:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Wireless Networking Software Homedale http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/10/wireless-networking-software-homedale/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/10/wireless-networking-software-homedale/#comments Fri, 10 Apr 2009 11:20:17 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/10/wireless-networking-software-homedale/ wireless networking softwareNot all wireless networking hardware comes with the appropriate software to monitor the available networks in the vicinity. The software that comes with the operating system is usually pretty basic as well and does not provide extensive means – or none at all – to monitor parameters like signal strength over time.

Homedale is a portable wireless networking software for the Windows operating system that can probably be best described as a wlan monitor. It uses a tabbed interface that displays information about the local network adapter, the available access points and the signal strength of each access point. The access points tab lists the name and mac address of each available access point plus information about the encryption method (WEP, WPA, WPA2), the bitrates, channels and signal strength.

wireless networking software

The wireless networking software can be used to monitor the signal strength of selected wireless adapters over time which makes it an excellent analysis tool especially for small and medium computer networks.

wireless software

Homedale has a size of less than 300 Kilobytes and uses roughly 5.5 Megabytes of computer memory while running the background. The software developer does not provide information about supported operating systems; It ran without problems on a Windows XP SP3 test system.

An alternative for Windows users is Wi-Fi Signal Strenght. Linux users might want to take a look at Wavemon which can display advanced wireless information.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/04/10/wireless-networking-software-homedale/feed/ 13 Wi-Fi Signal Strength http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/09/wi-fi-signal-strength/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/09/wi-fi-signal-strength/#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 07:19:56 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=5246 The signal strength of a wireless connection is one of the most important factors that has to be considered. If the signal strength is to low it can happen that the connection cannot be established at all or that it will fail while being connected. This can lead to all kinds of problems such as data loss or that the user has to enter data again because of the interrupted connection.

WiFi SiStr (Wi-Fi Signal Strength) displays and logs the signal strength of the wireless connection. This can be helpful if you want to find out why the wireless connection drops frequently or if you want to make sure that the signal strength is sufficient all the time.

The signal strength is displayed in real time and the statistics can be used to analyze a connection over time.

signal strength

The application is compatible to Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 but incompatible to Windows Vista currently. The .net framework 1.1 is required to run the software.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/09/wi-fi-signal-strength/feed/ 8 Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/06/xirrus-wi-fi-monitor/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/06/xirrus-wi-fi-monitor/#comments Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:51:39 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=5244 Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is a gadget for Windows Vista and a widget that is requiring the Yahoo Widget Framework for Windows XP and Apple Macintosh OS X. It’s an application for wireless users that displays all kind of information about discovered wireless networks that are currently in reach.

The radar view seems to be the favorite way of displaying wireless networks for several applications of that kind. The main widget displays the radar view, the network adapter and information about a wireless hotspot if one has been selected from the radar. Those information include data rate, channel, SSID and signal strength.

The software monitors the surrounding area in real time and displays new wireless hotspots once they come into reach.

vista gadget details

A detailed view is available as well which displays additional information such as default authentication mode, encryption, frequency, network mode and type. The software makes use of all wireless network adapters installed or connected to the computer system. Statistics and a glossary are available for additional information.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/07/06/xirrus-wi-fi-monitor/feed/ 2 Why you should not run an Open Wi-Fi http://www.ghacks.net/2008/01/11/why-you-should-not-run-an-open-wi-fi/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/01/11/why-you-should-not-run-an-open-wi-fi/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:36:22 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2008/01/11/why-you-should-not-run-an-open-wi-fi/ Security Expert Bruce Schneier wrote a commentary on Wired yesterday where he admitted that he was using an Open Wi-Fi and that he could not see what was wrong with doing so. He refused to accept security reasons because he said that the computer had to be secured as well and that an Open Wi-Fi would essentially be the same as using Wi-Fi on airports or Internet cafes.

Filesharing did not seem to be a concern as well citing the probability of being caught in the act. He is not concerned about bandwidth stealing either, most likely because he has a flatrate.

I would like to respond to this. A low probability to get caught does not mean that it won’t happen. This is my first concern. And the probability rises with every file shared on the Internet. I’m not sure about the law in America but I do know that you are responsible in many countries if a crime can be connected to your IP and that the excuse that you have been running an Open Wi-FI will not help you at all.

Besides file sharing we have the probability that someone is using the open Wi-Fi for hacking, blackmailing, trojans, viruses, child pornography or insults on forums. Depending on your location it could be highly unlikely that this is happening but I would never take this risk in first place.

Bandwidth is another aspect. If someone used all my upload speed to distribute files I would experience slow downs and could not use several applications that require a certain amount of bandwidth. It’s not only about the amount of Gigabytes that you transfer, it’s also about the impact on the system.

Only to help others out – with Internet – that you do not know ? If your neighbors need Internet so badly they could ask, can’t they ?

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/01/11/why-you-should-not-run-an-open-wi-fi/feed/ 7 Cracking Wi-Fi Protected Access http://www.ghacks.net/2005/12/21/cracking-wi-fi-protected-access/ http://www.ghacks.net/2005/12/21/cracking-wi-fi-protected-access/#comments Wed, 21 Dec 2005 08:00:59 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=239 informit estimates that about 40-50% of all wireless lan users use no protection at all for their network.]]> Wireless Networks are becoming more and more common these days and lots of people are ignoring the fact that they have to secure their wireless lan. Seth Fogie from informit estimates that about 40-50% of all wireless lan users use no protection at all for their network.

The article examines the WPA protection in detail and demonstrates how it can be cracked. The first part gives a good overview of WPA and compares it to WPE. The second part goes into detail how WPA can be cracked.

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