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WiFi networks have become the most predominant method for U.S. households with broadband access to connect to the Internet. According toncta.com, 89% of the United States home broadband users employ a wireless router and use it to attach multiple devices to the net. WiFi hotspots have popped up all over the place and many mobile users make great use of them while sipping a coffee and monitoring their recent posts.

The aspect of wireless networks that is of most concern is the possibility that its security can be breached. An attack on a wireless network can be conducted from a distance, minimizing the potential for the perpetrator to be apprehended. One of the main tools used in WiFi attacks is called a WiFi sniffer. Let’s take a closer look at what exactly a wireless sniffer is and how it can impact your WiFi network.

What is a WiFi Sniffer?

A WiFi sniffer is a specific type of network analyzer or packet sniffer that is designed to work with wireless networks. WiFi sniffing can be accomplished with a dedicated piece of electronic equipment or a software application. Wireless network sniffing is akin to wiretapping a phone line, only without the court order that legalizes the activity.

Wifi sniffer free download - WiFi Scanner, Easy WiFi, Hotspot Shield, and many more programs. Enter to Search. My Profile Logout. CNET News Best Apps Popular Apps Related. The NetStumbler program is only available for Windows. A lightweight version called. Best WiFi Analyzer for Mac. You don’t see may WiFi analyzer apps for mac on App Store. However, we have collected some information about good WiFi Analyser Apps for Mac. Here we’ve gathered apps meant for the Apple Mac ecosystem. There seem to be only a few good WiFi apps in the AppStore, we’ve picked the best! This app shows your MAC address and WiFi network information. So, if you don’t mind the limitation then give the app a try. Pricing: The base app is free and there are no ads. However, if you want to capture app-specific traffic then you need to buy the pro version for around $8.5 (which is asking a lot). Nmap is a popular open-source network scanning app for Android and desktop. Popular Alternatives to Wifi Analyzer for Android, Windows, Mac, Android Tablet, Linux and more. Explore 25+ apps like Wifi Analyzer, all suggested and ranked by the AlternativeTo user community.

There are valid and legal uses for a wireless sniffer tool to be used. An example is where a network administrator makes use of one to secure or monitor their network. Home users may employ a sniffer to better understand how their network operates. Unfortunately, a prime reason that WiFi sniffers are used by unscrupulous individuals is to attempt to collect information from, or gain access to, an unsecured network. A wireless sniffer allows someone to attack your network from a distance, making it hard to determine if there are attempts to compromise your data.

How Does a WiFi Sniffer Work?

WiFi sniffers come in two flavors: hardware and software. They perform the same tasks, though the software route may be more popular in most cases. You can obtain software WiFi sniffers for Windows, Mac, and mobile operating systems. In the case of a mobile device, you are in essence turning it into a hardware sniffer when using it with a sniffing application.

Hardware WiFi Sniffers

It does not take any special level of technical expertise to operate a hardware WiFi sniffer. Most devices are small and portable, able to easily fit in your pocket or laptop bag. You point the device in the direction where you believe a wireless network can be detected. You will be alerted by display lights when a wireless network is found within range of your device.

A WiFi sniffer for Android devices uses add-on tools and will offer a similar display when searching for networks. Quality hardware sniffers will be able to detect a wireless signal in spite of interference from Bluetooth devices, microwaves or cell phones.

Software WiFi Sniffers

There are many different software applications that serve the purpose of WiFi sniffing. You can download these tools for just about any operating system. Some of these tools have advanced features that allow you to do more than just locate the nearest wireless network.

Tools such as Wireshark and Network Miner serve as WiFi sniffers for the Windows platform. Users can download tools such as aircrack-ng or Zanti to perform WiFi sniffing on an Android device. There are many applications that enable WiFi sniffing on a Mac as well. We are going to use a free WiFi sniffer named KisMAC to see how you go about capturing WiFi traffic.

Capturing WiFi Traffic with a Wireless Network Sniffer

We are going to go through the steps required to capture WiFi traffic using the KisMAC software WiFi sniffer for the Mac. This free WiFi sniffer will run on your Mac OS X or macOS system. It is not a tool meant for the novice computer user, and troubleshooting will need to be done with some extensive web searches. That being said, here’s what you need to do.

Unfortunately, since KisMAC is an open source project there are limitations on its ability to function on newer MacBooks with the Airport Extreme Card. In these cases, you must obtain a USB WiFi card that will enable the tool to perform its sniffing activities.

  1. Download KisMAC and install it on your Mac.
  2. Go to Preferences -> Drivers and select the WiFi driver device to be used.
  3. Click on Add to use the selected driver.
  4. Click Start Scan and provide KisMAC with your administrator’s password.
  5. You will be presented with a list of wireless networks that are within range and the type of security they are using. In the case of networks with no security, you can directly join them. Networks protected by WEP or WPA will need a password to join.
  6. Click on the network you are interested in and you will start to accumulate data packets.

Once you are collecting data packets from the network you can attempt to crack the WEP or WPA security which will allow you to access the network. We leave those steps to be found with your own initiative.

Advantages and Issues Associated With Using a WiFi Sniffer

Obviously, some of the advantages of using a WiFi sniffer may not coincide with the privacy laws of your particular jurisdiction. It is legal to use a sniffer on your own network or to discover where wireless networks are located. Cracking passwords and gaining access to a network with the use of a sniffer is a crime and it is not our intention to lead you down that path.

WiFi sniffers definitely have valid uses in the business environment and can be an important tool in the hands of network administrators. These will normally be commercial-grade sniffers and often are implemented in hardware devices. Using this tool, admins can perform diagnostic tests on their network and troubleshoot problems. They can also help detect if the network has been subject to unauthorized access.

A powerful tool such as WiFi sniffer in the wrong hands can cause serious trouble for your network and the data it transmits. A hacker can obtain your account information, steal passwords, read your emails, and track your online movements.

Protect Your Data from WiFi Sniffers

Some simple steps can go a long way toward protecting your home network and your personal data when using unsecured WiFi at your local Starbucks. For home networks, ensure that your WiFi router is set to WPA encryption and choose a password that it at least 9 characters long. If you go up to 12 characters it is virtually impossible to crack your password in the hacker’s lifetime.

When accessing WiFi in locations that are not secured or where security is doubtful, follow these practices to safeguard your data. You need to assume that the nice guy with the laptop sitting across from you is there to steal your banking info. To thwart these kinds of attacks:

  • Refrain from doing any banking or financial activity while connected to an unsecured WiFi network.
  • Only use https encrypted websites.
  • Use a VPN to route your Internet activity through encrypted networks that cannot be compromised by hackers.

Now that you have seen what a WiFi sniffer can do and how it can impact your online activities, you should be better able to protect yourself and your data. The convenience of wireless networks can be enjoyed without risk if you take the necessary precautions. Make sure that you do.

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As the number of Wi-Fi networks rapidly explodes, detecting, managing, and maintaining your Wi-Fi can become problematic. When everyone around you is blasting their own Wi-Fi signals—particularly if in large apartment buildings or business complexes with lots of other large companies—you’re more likely to experience problems with Wi-Fi signals dropping out, poor connectivity, and slow performance.

Even within your own Wi-Fi network, several optimizations could help ensure your network is functioning appropriately, including router placement, appropriate channel, and security measures. And of course, analyzing and understanding your wireless network is key.

One of my favorite tools for discovering and solving these problems is SolarWinds® Network Performance Monitor (NPM). It includes high-performance network monitoring and insights and troubleshooting features to ensure your network starts working again as soon as possible after a problem arises. In particular, the SolarWinds heat map feature allows you to see where Wi-Fi signal is strong, and “dead zones” with low connectivity.

What Does a Wi-Fi Analyzer Do?

Most Wi-Fi network analyzers work in a similar way, in which you can choose a wireless spectrum to examine, such as 2.4GHz or 5GHz. The analyzer then examines that spectrum to view networks, their channels, and signal strength.

Wifi Sniffer Hardware

In simple terms, a Wi-Fi analyzer gathers information about access points and channels on your network and displays it in an easy-to-understand, visually accessible way. A wireless network analyzer can help you maintain connection quality, which can be vital for numerous business needs and performance metrics. Wi-Fi signals are constantly changing, and small changes in the network can have massive effects on the overall connection uptime.

Using a Wi-Fi network analyzer can collect data and help you identify problems, or it can indicate potential solutions such as switching to another channel to reduce congestion. You can also use this type of tool to discover areas in your facility with a weak Wi-Fi signal.

Best Wi-Fi Network Analyzer Software in 2020

In my opinion, using Wi-Fi analyzer software can be an excellent tool for optimizing business and even at-home Wi-Fi performance. This kind of software is usually easy-to-use and can provide great benefits in terms of connection reliability, signal strength, and download speeds.

Network Performance Monitor

Of the different tools available on the market, the SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, with its Wi-Fi analyzer, is the most comprehensive. Despite its extensive list of features, it remains simple for both beginner and advanced users.

The relevant feature here is the heatmapping capability allowing you to create multiple color-coded maps of your facilities using real device data to display signal strength. You can automatically update these maps for a real-time understanding of your wireless network. Having at-a-glance insights into your Wi-Fi can really help with troubleshooting (especially when end users come knocking with complaints about connectivity).

Beyond heatmapping, NPM offers a range of useful network management features. For instance, its proprietary NetPath tool lets you detect and display network pathways with a visual traceroute. This allows you to simply determine where slowdowns and issues exist, as you can see the performance and information between individual nodes. Furthermore, with the PerfStack feature, you can compare the performance of different metrics side-by-side, so you can correlate multiple types of data across a common timeline.

Overall, SolarWinds NPM has an impressive suite of tools, and each has clean and beautiful visualizations and displays. Furthermore, NPM scales well and includes the ability to hook in with the SolarWinds High Availability platform, to ensure even fewer network drops, with strong failover protection.

NetSpot

NetSpot has a beautiful, easy-to-use interface, and is suitable for both beginners and experienced network administrators. It uses two different modes: discovery mode and survey mode. The first mode looks at a snapshot of the Wi-Fi networks near you, while survey mode can provide more detailed heat maps of Wi-Fi strength.

NetSpot is easy to install and includes several other visual representations of the wireless spectrum and the data it can collect. There are four different versions: free, home, commercial, and enterprise. The difference between them is the number of zones you can look at, how many access points you can scan, and the number of data points you can collect with a scan.

Wifi Sniffer For Mac

InSSIDer

Another product to consider is InSSIDer. This established Wi-Fi analyzer tool for Windows is very reliable. The InSSIDer tool is generally intended for enterprise and business use, rather than for home users. Despite being geared toward admins, it’s still relatively easy to use.

Free Wifi Sniffer Download

Wifi Sniffer App Mac

It gathers the data you would expect: channel, signal strength, MAC addresses, and encryption type for each access point on the network. InSSIDer then provides you with a “link score” for each connection. The higher the score, the better. The software is easy to install, with comprehensive guides and links to free webinars if you need more assistance.

NetCut

Consider NetCut if you’re looking for a solution for professional or enterprise use. It was originally created to be a back-end solution, but it can be used by anyone for network investigating and debugging.

Wifi Sniffer App Mac Pro

NetCut allows you to monitor LAN activity and can display all the IP and MAC addresses and data of devices that are connected or have ever connected to your network.

With NetCut, you can kick someone off your network or restore their access at will. The main issue with NetCut for beginner users is that it has a lot of machine-translated documentation that may be hard to understand for someone who is not a network administrator, and a slightly more complex interface.

NetCut includes an extra layer of protection called NetCut Defender, which protects your computer from ARP and MAC address spoofing.

WiFi Analyzer

Unlike NetSpot and NetCut, WiFi Analyzer is intended primarily for home or temporary use. It is an app for Windows 10, available on the Microsoft Store. It comes in basic and pro versions, and the basic version includes everything you need to analyze your Wi-Fi network. The app takes your network and turns the data into easy-to-understand visualizations, suggesting which channel you should use to reduce congestion.

For someone new to Wi-Fi analyzer tools, this would be a potential choice. For enterprise needs or larger networks, it’s probably much too limited.

Vistumbler

Like most other Wi-Fi analyzers, Vistumbler scans nearby networks for access points and can map your Wi-Fi network and connectivity strength while showing you detailed information about each network. It provides network status, MAC address, SSID, signal strength, channel number, and network type.

Vistumbler is set apart by its GPS support, which can integrate with Google Earth to display Wi-Fi networks. This feature is for people who may be driving, walking, or cycling around to try to find Wi-Fi networks to use. When Vistumbler discovers a Wi-Fi network with this feature, the app can show you where the network is on a map and other network information.

The main downside is that Vistumbler is not easy to use, and the user interface can be difficult to navigate. Again, it’s not a full enterprise solution for Wi-Fi analysis.

Best Free Wifi Sniffer Software

WiFi Commander

With good-looking graphics and sophisticated UI, WiFi Commander is one of the more attractive Wi-Fi analyzer tools. You can scan and filter nearby Wi-Fi networks and create 3-D graphs of the results. If your laptop has touchscreen capabilities, you can use touch to move and interact with the 3-D visualization.

The WiFi Commander app shows Wi-Fi signal strength and displays it in real-time so you can use the most recent data to join the strongest or most stable Wi-Fi network.

Wireshark

If you need a free or open-source Wi-Fi analyzer tool, check out Wireshark. Its purpose is to analyze and troubleshoot different communications protocols, and it includes the ability to look at Wi-Fi. Wireshark is very complicated to use, and you’ll need some training to use it. As such, it’s normally only used by networking and Wi-Fi professionals. In addition, there are obvious disadvantages for relying on open-source tools for business use, so you may want something with a bit more built-up functionality.

If you’re looking for something a little more basic when it comes to Wireshark, SolarWinds has a free tool called Response Time Viewer for Wireshark designed to help you analyze packet capture files as well as visualize response time in Wireshark.

Wifi Sniffer App Iphone

Wi-Fi Analysis Solutions

In general, there’s no shortage of tools and software to help you monitor and organize your Wi-Fi networks, whether you’re a casual user or an enterprise professional. With the inclusion of high-reward tools such as heatmaps, visualizations, and performance metric graphs, the best Wi-Fi analysis tools and network management tools can revolutionize how you get the most out of your connection.

I recommend SolarWinds NPM due to its more robust suite of offerings and simple learning curve for new users. It’s much more robust than some of the limited-scope tools I mentioned above. Even so, I find the SolarWinds platform both intuitive and efficient.

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But as the saying goes, there's no lock without a key. There are tools to see your hidden apps and folder and some are even free to download, like CleanMyMac X by MacPaw.This highly popular tool comes with a tool called ' Space Lens.' /how-to-find-your-apps-on-mac.html.

How to Tame—and Redefine—Your Network Now – If you’re interested in considering how networks are changing and evolving, as well as the ways in which you may need to adapt your network management, read this article on how to prepare for tomorrow’s network topography.

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