craig mathias
Principal

Other analyzers working in the wireless realm

Reviews
Jan 19, 20091 min

We also looked at Ufasoft Sniffer 4.126, but found it supports no contemporary WLAN adapters. This was surprising, as the program was last updated in May of 2008, but no documentation or even a help file is available. E-mails to the support contact went unanswered.

AirGrab Network Packet Analyzer 0.8 for the Mac is a general-purpose TCP/UDP capture tool that can connect to the Mac’s wireless adapter. It’s free and not bad for basic IP capture and analysis, but despite its name doesn’t capture or analyze any Wi-Fi-specific information. There’s no manual, but it’s pretty simple.

We also tried the free version of Kismet available on the CACE technologies Web site. This tool works with the AirPcap adapter, but is very primitive (DOS-era) and it would be hard to recommend this one for corporate use.

And finally, we invited Network Instruments to submit their interesting Observer product for review, but they declined, citing wireless as not being a core area of their product capabilities. Still, a free evaluation of this product is available.

WLAN sniffers pass the sniff test >

craig mathias

Craig J. Mathias is a principal with Farpoint Group, an advisory firm specializing in wireless networking and mobile computing. Founded in 1991, Farpoint Group works with technology developers, manufacturers, carriers and operators, enterprises, and the financial community. Craig is an internationally-recognized industry and technology analyst, consultant, conference speaker, author, columnist, and blogger. He regularly writes for Network World, CIO.com, and TechTarget. Craig holds an Sc.B. degree in Computer Science from Brown University, and is a member of the Society of Sigma Xi and the IEEE.

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