One Card to Rule Them All

FINALLY!


If you do a lot of sniffing, there is a chance that you have a bag full of USB adapters whose contents look like this:



  • Riverbed AirPcap NX
  • Metageek WiSpy DBx
  • D-Link DWA-160
  • Cisco-Linksys WUSB600Nv1
  • D-Link DWL-122
  • D-Link DWL-G122
  • Ubiquiti SR71-USB (w/ two HG2401RD-MMCX 2.4 GHz antennas)
I do, and it stinks. AirPcap is for Wireshark, WiSpy is for Chanalyzer, the DWA-160 and SR71-USB are for AirMagnet software, the DWL adapters are for Kismac and the Cisco-Linksys is for OmniPeek. It is a bit frustrating, especially if I need to switch between applications.

Well, today I am a happy(er) man. 


The screen in that shot is WildPackets OmniPeek, running like a champ. And do you see that little thing on the right, there?


That is the D-Link DWA-160, working with OmniPeek like a champ.

It is a little thing, I guess, but I am very happy to be able to use the DWA-160 adapter with WildPackets OmniPeek. This means that Fluke Networks' AirMagnet WiFi Analyzer & AirMagnet Survey, WildPackets OmniPeek and the Linux version of Wireshark all can do 802.11n monitor mode for 802.11n traffic (with up to two streams) with just one adapter. And it is cheap! I bought mine for $75 a couple of years ago.

A full fledged WiFi sniffing hardware kit will still require more than just a DWA-160, but it has definitely become a good place to start.

Comments

  1. senthilJanuary 18, 2012 at 10:35 AM

    Hi Ben ,

    Can DWA-160 Sniff A-MPDU , A-MSDU and Block ACK's.

    Thanks
    Senthil

    ReplyDelete
  2. senthilJanuary 18, 2012 at 10:36 AM

    I meant With Wireshark

    ReplyDelete
  3. ArashJanuary 31, 2012 at 1:48 PM

    I could not install wildpackets driver on windows XP for my dwa-160 adapter , could you please let me know how can I install it.
    when I select the driver I get the message "The specified location does not contain information about your hardware"

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ben MillerFebruary 3, 2012 at 4:32 PM

    I am unaware of any way to use the DWA-160 (or any other 802.11n USB adapter, for that matter) with Wireshark for Windows.

    ReplyDelete
  5. oxidentApril 22, 2012 at 11:53 AM

    Well, at the moment, I can't see any advantage in using a DWA-160 instead of an Alfa external dongle (which even features an external antenna connector). Correct me if I'm wrong ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. JoeAvanzatoMarch 26, 2017 at 8:41 AM

    Ben, not sure if you still receive notifications for this but I could not find an email to reply to. What driver version are you utilizing with the DWA-160? I have a DWA-160 B2, but I am afraid every drive I try is not allowing packet capture via Omnipeek. Seems to work ok in Linux distros with Aircrack/Wireshark but I really would like Omnipeek functionality as well. Any tips? Please send a reply to joeavanzato@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

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