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Project Notes

WiFi Scanners

A quick survey of WiFi scanners

Notes

No scientific assessment here, just quick checks…

tldr: WiFi Explorer is the only one that gave me the full technical details (short of pulling out the big guns with wireshark)

NetSpot

  • WiFi analyzer app for macOS offers the most visual and convenient heat maps and more.
  • Android, iOS, Windows, MacOS
  • commercial and free editions
  • good for signal analysis but not config details

NetSpot1 NetSpot2

WiFi Scanner for Mac OS

  • WiFi analyzer app for Mac that also detects access points and clients in ad-hoc mode in case the SSID is broadcasted.
  • MacOS
  • pretty expensive and no free trial?

iStumbler for Mac

  • WiFi analyzer app for Mac will display networks according to their types, i.e. Bluetooth, Bonjour or AirPort.
  • currently not available due to issues
  • MacOS

WiFi Explorer

  • Detect issues that may be affecting connection and the performance of your network, such as channel conflicts, overlapping and configuration issues, etc.
  • good for advanced details - allows inspection and export of full technical details of each network
  • MacOS

wifiexplorer1

KisMAC

  • an open-source WiFi analyzer application for Mac OS that can map wireless networks and lay out the info on their performance so you can easily troubleshoot.
  • ATTENTION! KisMAC WiFi scanner is no longer being updated or maintained! The latest version 0.3.3 released Feb 07, 2011
  • MacOS
  • source still available at https://github.com/IGRSoft/KisMac2

Mac Wireless Diagnostics Tool

  • a built-in Mac WiFi analyzer that’s included in all version of macOS.
  • MacOS

WirelessDiagnostics1

inSSIDer

  • the basic version of this WiFi analyzer allows Mac users to collect all essential information about nearby WiFi networks.
  • MacOS, Windows
  • failed to detect most networks when I tried it?!

inSSIDer1

AirRadar

  • this free-to-try WiFi analyzer for Mac is great for performing large-scale WiFi site surveys.
  • free trial
  • basic details
  • MacOS

AirRadar1

WireShark

  • Not specifically for WiFi scanning, however if the need is to capture wifi traffic then it is ideal
  • MacOS, Windows

WireShark1

About LCK#235 toolsnetworking
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This page is a web-friendly rendering of my project notes shared in the LittleCodingKata GitHub repository.

LittleCodingKata is my collection of programming exercises, research and code toys broadly spanning things that relate to programming and software development (languages, frameworks and tools).

These range from the trivial to the complex and serious. Many are inspired by existing work and I'll note credits and references where applicable. The focus is quite scattered, as I variously work on things new and important in the moment, or go back to revisit things from the past.

This is primarily a personal collection for my own edification and learning, but anyone who stumbles by is welcome to borrow, steal or reference the work here. And if you spot errors or issues I'd really appreciate some feedback - create an issue, send me an email or even send a pull-request.