Wireless Network Security: Popular Hacking Tools

For those who are interested in expanding their knowledge regarding wireless security and taking advantage of vulnerabilities, they will require a good basis of utilities to work with. Luckily, many free tools are available for download online. This article will consist of these tools and how you can keep yourself secure against them.

Wireshark

Wireshark, which was formerly known as Ethereal until '06, is a wonderful open source analyzer of network protocol for Windows and Unix. Wireshark allows the user to "sniff" out data from either a capture file on a drive or a live network connection. It features a degree of interaction to capture the information, you can choose exactly what level of detail for packets that you need. Wireshark has many strong options, including a powerful option for language filtering as well as the option to see the stream reconstructed of the entire TCP session. Wireshark comes with built-in support for hundreds of media types and protocols. A side feature called tethereal comes bundled which functions like a TCP dump. I must insert a disclaimer here as Wireshark is known for a few dozen security holes that are remotely exploitable, so make sure to stay consistently updated and also be wary of using it on potentially hostile networks.

Kismet

Kismet is based on a wireless 802.11 layer 2 network sniffer, detector, and intrusion detection program. It can identify any network by sniffing passively, and can be used to decloak any hidden networks that may be in use. Kismet can be used to detect automatically any blocks on network IPs by sniffing ARP, UDP, DHCP, and TCP packets, record any traffic in a format compatible to TCPDump/Wireshark, and can even map out networks as well as estimate distance through maps, which can be downloaded. As expected Kismet is often used for what is called wardriving.

Tcpdump

Tcpdump is the grandfather of all other packet sniffers. This sniffer was used even before Ethereal, or Wireshark, arrived on the scene, and there are still many who use it frequently and efficiently. It does not come equipped with all the whistles and bells that Wireshark may have, but it performs just as well and with less holes in security. Also, it takes up less resources on your system. While new updates for features are scarce, the manufacturers do actively fix problems and bugs. This tool is awesome for monitoring network activity as well as tracking down any problems.