Visualize Wlans on a Map

Wlandscape is a Java application that displays all wireless Lans (Wlans) in a specified area on a street map making it much easier to identify possible hotspots that can be used to access the Internet.

The software needs some batch file editing before it can be used, nothing serious though.

The file javax.comm.properties has to be moved from the Wlandscape directory into the lib directory of the JRE installation of your computer. This can be found in the Program Files folder normally. After copying this library the run.bat file has to be edited to point to the correct installation of the Java Runtime Environment on your computer.

Finally Wlandscape can be started by double-clicking on the run.bat file. The best approach would be to search for Wlans by address. You can enter city, zip and street information and let Wlandscape search for hits. If more than one possibility is found it will ask the user to pick one result of the list.

What I like is that Wlandscape supports automated tracking by GPS and that Netstumbler information can be imported as well.

The program has two core features that you may find useful. It visualizes all wireless Lan access points around you on a street map so that you can identify their approximate location better. While you can display a list of access points in Windows as well, it won't tell you anything about the location of those access points in relation to your current position.

If you use a tablet or laptop, you can let it run while you are driving or moving around to record those information.

Please note that Wlandscape has not been updated for a long time. While the Soureceforge page lists 2013, the install.txt file supplied by the application lists 2003 as the last update date. We suggest you use a program such as Wifi Collector for Android or Wireless Net View for Windows instead.

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