Sniff Wi-Fi

It's been over two-and-a-half years since yours truly last wrote about Oscium WiPry , but there is reason to today: they fixed it!  Now the only 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer for Apple iOS reads signal level correctly.  And using the new, corrected version reminded the author why WiPry is a nice product at a reasonable price. The concept of a spectrum analyzer hasn't changed in decades, and for good reason.  It's simple.  A device listens for activity at a given frequency and displays a readout of said activity, usually in a fancy, colorful way. In the last two years, however, many things have changed about spectrum analysis for WiFi.  PC card slots have become increasingly rare, thus leaving the Cisco Spectrum Expert in the margins.  Sensor-based spectrum analysis has increased in popularity.  Metageek, makers of my favored spectrum analyzer , stopped offering free software with their signature WiSpy series of spectrum analyzers. What hadn't changed in the last cou

It's time to switch things up a bit.  WiFi sniffing is a fascinating topic and all, but good ol' Yours Truly wants to try something new.   This will be the first in the "Not Sniffing, but..." series on the Sniff WiFi blog.  I come across interesting topics outside of sniffing all the time, so I want to add short blog posts on some of these topics. Several months ago WLAN bon vivant Keith Parsons  posted a blurb on his WLANPros.com blog about the Fluke Networks LinkSprinter .  I contacted someone from Fluke Networks to ask about the LinkSprinter, and they were gracious enough to send me one to test. LinkSprinter is a wired testing tool.  It's more for people who install APs than for people who, like me, primarily do frame captures.  Still, we both do troubleshooting.  The LinkSprinter is definitely for troubleshooting. The tool is pretty simple.  You plug in an Ethernet cable, and you press the lone button to start the test.  You'll immediately get a