Sep 10, 2019 Since Wi-Fi downtime has grown so exponentially costly, using a preventive Wi-Fi analysis software can greatly improve organizational return on investment, paying for itself in no time. NetSpot is another excellent Wi-Fi scanner and analyzer. It runs on both Windows and Mac OS X and offers a free version. Wireless Diagnostics (Mac OS X Lion and later) In Mac OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.4 and later, Apple provides the Wireless Diagnostics tool. Itâs more than just a stumbler; it can help detect and fix.
This article is for network administrators and others who manage their own network. If you're trying to join a Wi-Fi network, one of these articles should help:
Follow these steps first
Before you change your settings, follow these steps:
SSID or Wi-Fi network name
The SSID (service set identifier), or network name, identifies your Wi-Fi network to users and other Wi-Fi devices. It is case sensitive.
Set to: Any unique name
Choose a name that's unique to your network and isn't shared by other nearby networks or networks you're likely to encounter. If your router came with a default SSID, it's especially important that you change it to a different, unique name. Some common default SSID names to avoid are linksys, netgear, dlink, wireless, 2wire and default.
If your SSID isn't unique, Wi-Fi devices will have trouble identifying your network. This could cause them to fail to connect automatically to your network, or to connect to other networks that share the same SSID. It may also prevent Wi-Fi devices from using all routers in your network, or prevent them from using all available bands of a router.
Hidden network
Hidden networks don't broadcast their SSID over Wi-Fi. https://yellowlol802.weebly.com/itunes-music-download-free-mac.html. This option may be incorrectly referred to as a closed network, and the corresponding non-hidden state may be referred to as broadcast.
Set to: Disabled
Because hidden networks don't broadcast their SSID, devices may need more time to find them and connect to them. Hiding a network doesn't secure your Wi-Fi network, because the SSID can still be discovered in other ways. You should always enable security on your Wi-Fi router.
MAC address authentication or filtering
Restricts access to a Wi-Fi router to devices with specific MAC (Media Access Control) addresses.
Set to: Disabled
When enabled, this feature allows a user to configure a list of MAC addresses for the Wi-Fi router, and restrict access to devices with addresses that are on the list. Devices with MAC addresses not on the list will fail to associate with the Wi-Fi network. MAC addresses can be changed easily, so don't rely on them to prevent unauthorised access to the network.
iOS 8 and later uses a randomised MAC address when running Wi-Fi scans. The scans are conducted when a device isn't associated with a Wi-Fi network and its processor is asleep. A deviceâs processor goes to sleep shortly after the screen is turned off. Wi-Fi scans are run to determine whether a user can connect to a preferred Wi-Fi network. Enhanced Wi-Fi scans are run when a device uses Location Services for apps that use geofencing, such as location-based reminders, that determine whether the device is near a specific location.
Security
The security setting controls the type of authentication and encryption used by your Wi-Fi router, which allows you to control access to the network and specify the level of privacy for data you send over the air.
Set to: WPA3 Personal (AES)
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WPA3 Personal (AES) is currently the strongest form of security offered by Wi-Fi products. When enabling WPA2 or WPA3, make sure you select a strong password that can't be guessed by third parties.
If you have older Wi-Fi devices that don't support WPA2 Personal (AES), a good second choice is WPA/WPA2 Mode, also known as WPA Mixed Mode. This mode allows newer devices to use the stronger WPA2 AES encryption, while still allowing older devices to connect with older WPA TKIP-level encryption. If your Wi-Fi router doesn't support WPA/WPA2 Mode, WPA Personal (TKIP) mode is the next best choice.
For compatibility, reliability, performance and security reasons, WEP is not recommended. WEP is insecure and functionally obsolete. If you must choose between WEP and TKIP, choose TKIP.
Due to serious security weaknesses, the WEP and WPA TKIP encryption methods are deprecated and strongly discouraged. Use these modes only if necessary to support legacy Wi-Fi devices that don't support WPA2 AES and can't be upgraded to support WPA2 AES. Devices using these deprecated encryption methods can't take full advantage of the performance and other features of 802.11n and 802.11ac. As a result, the Wi-Fi Alliance has directed the Wi-Fi industry to phase out WEP and WPA TKIP.
If your security is set to None or unsecured mode, you're using no authentication or encryption. Anyone can join your Wi-Fi network, use your Internet connection, access any shared resources on your network and read any traffic you send over the network. Using an unsecured network is not recommended.
2.4 GHz radio mode
This setting controls which versions of the 802.11n/ac standard the network uses for wireless communication on the 2.4 GHz band.
Set to: Auto or 802.11n/ac
Routers that support 802.11 should be configured for 802.11n/ac for maximum speed and compatibility. Different Wi-Fi routers support different radio modes, so the setting varies depending on the router. In general, enable support for all modes. Devices can then automatically select the fastest commonly supported mode to communicate. Choosing a subset of the available modes prevents some devices from connecting. For example, 802.11ac devices can't connect to a Wi-Fi router in 802.11n-only mode. Also, choosing a subset of the available modes may cause interference with nearby legacy networks, and nearby legacy devices may interfere with your network.
5 GHz radio mode
This setting controls which versions of the 802.11a/b/g/n standard the network uses for wireless communication on the 5 GHz band. Newer standards support faster transfer rates, and older standards provide compatibility with older devices and additional range.
Set to: Auto or 802.11n/ac
Routers that support 802.11n should be configured for 802.11n/ac mode for maximum speed and compatibility. Different Wi-Fi routers support different radio modes, so the setting varies depending on the router. In general, enable support for all modes. Devices can then automatically select the fastest commonly supported mode to communicate. Choosing a subset of the available modes prevents older devices from connecting. For example, 802.11ac devices can't connect to a Wi-Fi router in 802.11n-only mode. Also, choosing a subset of the available modes may cause interference with nearby legacy networks, and nearby legacy devices may interfere with your network.
Channel
This setting controls which channel your Wi-Fi router uses to communicate.
Set to: Auto
For best performance, choose Auto mode and let the Wi-Fi router select the best channel. If this mode isn't supported by your Wi-Fi router, choose a channel that's free from other Wi-Fi routers and other sources of interference. Read about possible sources of interference
2.4 GHz channel width
Channel width controls how large a 'pipe' 'is available to transfer data. However, larger channels are more subject to interference, and more likely to interfere with other devices. A 40 MHz channel is sometimes called a wide channel, and a 20 MHz channel is a narrow channel.
Set to: 20 MHz
Use 20 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band. Using 40 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band can cause performance and reliability issues with your network, especially in the presence of other Wi-Fi networks and other 2.4 GHz devices. A 40 MHz channel may also cause interference and issues with other devices that use this band, such as Bluetooth devices, cordless phones and neighbouring Wi-Fi networks. Routers that don't support 40 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band do support 20 MHz channels.
5 GHz channel width
Channel width controls how large a 'pipe' is available to transfer data. Larger channels are more susceptible to interference, and more likely to interfere with other devices. Interference is less of an issue in the 5 GHz band than in the 2.4 GHz band. A 40 MHz channel is sometimes called a wide channel, and a 20 MHz channel is a narrow channel.
Set to:
For 802.11n access points, set the 5 GHz band to 20 MHz and 40 MHz. For 802.11ac access points, set the 5 GHz band to 20 MHz, 40 MHz and 80 MHz.
For best performance and reliability, enable support for all channel widths. This allows devices to use the largest width they support, which results in optimum performance and compatibility. Not all client devices support 40 MHz channels, so don't enable 40 MHz-only mode. Devices that support only 20 MHz channels can't connect to a Wi-Fi router in 40 MHz-only mode. Similarly, don't enable 80 MHz-only mode, or only clients capable of 802.11ac will be able to connect. Routers that don't support 40 MHz or 80 MHz channels do support 20 MHz channels.
DHCP
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) assigns addresses that identify devices on your network. Once assigned, devices use these addresses to communicate with each other and with computers on the Internet. The functionality of a DHCP server can be thought of as similar to a phone company handing out phone numbers, which customers then use to call other people.
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Set to: Enabled, if it's the only DHCP server on your network
There should only be one DHCP server on your network. This DHCP server may be built in to your cable modem, DSL modem or router. If more than one device has DHCP enabled, you are likely to see address conflicts and have issues accessing the Internet or other resources on your network.
NAT
Network address translation (NAT) translates between addresses on the Internet and those on a local network. The functionality of a NAT provider is like that of a worker in an office post room who takes a business address and an employee name on incoming letters and replaces them with the destination office number in a building. This allows people outside the business to send information to a specific person in the building.
Set to: Enabled, if it's the only router providing NAT services on your network
Generally, you should only enable NAT on the device that acts as a router for your network. This is usually your cable modem, your DSL modem or your standalone router, which may also act as your Wi-Fi router. Using NAT on more than one device is called double NAT, and that can cause issues with accessing Internet services, such as games, Voice Over IP (VoIP), Virtual Private Network (VPN) and communicating across the different levels of NAT on the local network.
WMM
WMM (Wi-Fi Multimedia) prioritises network traffic according to four access categories: voice, video, best effort and background.
Set to: Enabled
All 802.11n and 802.11ac access points should have WMM enabled in their default configuration. Disabling WMM can cause issues for the entire network, not just Apple products on the network.
Location Services
Some countries or regions have regulations that affect wireless signal strength and the use of Wi-Fi channels. When you travel to other countries or regions, make sure that your devices have Location Services turned on so that you can connect to Wi-Fi networks in that country or region.
On your Mac:
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On your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch:
Wireless operator Wi-Fi networks
Wireless operator Wi-Fi networks are networks configured by your operator and their partners. Your iPhone treats them as known networks and connects to them automatically. If you see 'Privacy Warning' under the name of your operator's network in Wi-Fi Settings, your mobile data identity may be exposed if a malicious hotspot impersonates your operator's Wi-Fi network.
To prevent automatic joining of your operator's Wi-Fi networks, tap Settings > Wi-Fi. Tap next to the network name and then turn off Auto-Join.
Most of the wireless routers today comes with some security feature such as security encryption (WEP/WPA), MAC address filtering, lowering transmission power, disabling DHCP & use static IP, and hiding of SSID to help keep your wireless network safe from intruders. Top pdf creator software for mac. Each wireless security mechanism helps to increase the difficulty of unauthorized users from hacking in to your wireless networks but surely does not prevent the determined ones. https://brownfishing196.weebly.com/cdrwin-505-windows-7-download.html. In this article we will be focusing on one of the option âBroadcast SSIDâ found in most wireless routers.
Basically when the broadcast SSID option is enabled, all wireless capable devices can see your router listed together with a bunch of other wireless networks. This option provides a convenience for you to easily connect to it by clicking on your SSID and entering the security key. However, this also allows the nearby hackers to find your network and also see the signal strength with the security type being used directly from Windows without even the need to run a network scanning tool. Non broadcasting wireless networks are not totally invisible as well because they can be detected by any of the 8 tools mentioned below.
1. inSSIDer
inSSIDer is the most popular free and open source Wi-Fi scanning tool available today. It is easy to use and understand without all the confusing configuration. After installation, running inSSIDer will automatically select your wireless adapter to start scanning for available access points. Then the results will be shown in a sortable table in the program displaying information such as SSID, channel, security, RSSI, MAC Address, maximum rate, vendor and network type.
The hidden wireless network is shown in the first line with an empty SSID but the rest of the information about the network is displayed. inSSIDer works on Windows XP/Vista/7 (32-bit & 64-bit) and also on Android and Mac.
Download inSSIDer
2. WirelessNetView
Another excellent small and portable utility by Nir Sofer called WirelessNetView allows you to view the available wireless networks around you. By placing the OUI database at the same folder as WirelessNetView, it can even show the brand of the wireless router based on the MAC address. It is possible to generate a HTML report file from the right click context menu and it also has command line support to save the list of wireless networks into an external TXT, CSV, HTML or XML file.
The hidden wireless network is shown without a SSID. A unique feature found in WirelessNetView is the ability to restart Windows Wireless Service from the Options toolbar or alternatively from the hotkey Ctrl+R. WirelessNetView works from Windows XP to Windows 7.
Download WirelessNetView
3. Winhotspot
Winhotspot is actually a stand alone application that allows you to easily create a hotspot to share your Internet connection using your wireless adapter. However it also comes with a scanner which can be accessed from the WiFi Stats tab and clicking the Refresh button shows all the available wireless networks including the hidden ones.
The wardriving feature is very basic that only shows the important information such as SSID, Auth, BSSID, Signal, Radio and Channel. This utility is only 154KB in size and works only in Windows 7 and 8. The file is hosted in CNETâs server and you should click on the Direct Download link instead of the big Download Now button to avoid downloading the unnecessary 600KB CNET installer.
Download Winhotspot
4. Homedale
Homedal (read our full review) is another portable and free wireless monitoring tool that is capable of showing hidden wireless networks. The program is divided into four different tabs showing an overview of your wireless adapter, access points, signal graph and options. At the Access Points tab you can see all the detected networks with the signal strength levels being automatically updated every few seconds.
An interesting feature found in Homedale is the ability to connect to the access point by right clicking on the AP and select Connect. Unfortunately the connect command does nothing to the hidden ones without the SSID.
Download Homedale
5. NetSurveyor
NetSurveyor by Nuts About Nets seems to be a more professional tool as it comes with logging to record and playback the data. Other than that, a PDF report can also be automatically generated from the File menu that shows the discovered networks, beacon qualities, usage of channels and timecourse/heatmap/spectrogram of channels.
Hidden wireless networks are shown as UNKNOWN_SSID_BSSID in the program. The channel usage bar graph instantly tells you the overlapping channels with the colored bars. Even if your computer does not have a wireless adapter, NetSurveyor can be ran as DEMO mode to get a feel on how it works. NetSurveyor works from XP SP3 with Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 or later.
Download NetSurveyor
6. Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector
Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector is biggest in file size at 21MB if compared to the rest of the scanners mentioned in this article. The program has a modern ribbon type of user interface which seems a bit unnecessary because it only has 1 Home tab. The program categorizes into four different parts which is the radar, connection information, found networks and signal history. The radar simply displays the access points closest to you.
A gadget version of the Inspector can also be downloaded from the official website. It is free and works on Windows XP SP2 or later, Vista, or 7.
Download Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector
7. Vistumbler
Vistumbler is a free wireless network scanner coded in Autoit made for Vista to replace the outdated Netstumbler. Vistumbler has been around since 2007 and an updated version has been recently released after without updates for 2 years. The method used by Vistumbler to scan the access point is the same as method #8 below except the results are shown in an easy to read table.
Running Vistumbler will report that an update is available even though weâve just downloaded the latest version. Clicking on the Yes button will prompt an error about a variable used without being declared and clicking OK will close the program. What you need to do is simply click No when it ask you if you like to update vistumbler.
Download Vistumbler
8. netsh
If you are unable to install and run any of the 7 tools above, netsh would be your best alternative. netsh is a command shell tool by Microsoft found in Windows operating system. Simply launch command prompt and type the following command line to get a list of wireless networks. It is advisable to disconnect from any access points before running this command to get a more accurate result.
netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid
The netsh command is useful because it doesnât require installation of third party programs but it does not come with a fancy graphical user interface or nice looking graphs. Surprisingly the netsh tool is able to show quite a wealth of information if compared to the third party tools mentioned above. Do take note that if both wired and wireless are connected, you will need to disable the wired connection first or else youâll get the message âThere are 0 networks currently visibleâ.
Editorâs Note: If you havenât noticed, all of the network scanning tools above can only discover invisible wireless networks but they cannot reveal the hidden SSID. Most of them shows a blank SSID while only NetSurveyor shows UNKNOWN_SSID and Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector shows Non-Broadcasted. There are some wireless utility that is installed together with the wireless adapter driver capable of showing hidden networks. Although the Windows wardriving tools is unable to reveal the hidden SSID in invisible wireless networks, it doesnât mean that hiding SSID broadcast is safe. The hidden SSID can be revealed by de-authenticating connected users using aireplay-ng that is found in BackTrack Linux.
You might also like:5 Tools To Monitor Your Wireless Network Signal StrengthConnect Computers Together using Ad Hoc Wireless for Sharing the Internet and Files7 Free Tools to Check if Someone is Using Your Wireless Network6 Ways to Import and Export Wireless Network Profile Settings10 Ad-Free Programs to Share Wireless Internet Connection in Windows
Manuel Camaro3 years ago
Thank You so much for all the info Raymond ,is very helpful .
Reply
I will appreciate your research and cannot express my gratitude Reply
GOD Bless u.
Joe LaFave 1.4 years ago
What can I do to find out, who the people are to the right of my Computer in NetWorks? Reply
I have a feeling they are in there to gather information on my computer? thanks, Joe
Also you may use Lizardsystems Wi-Fi Scanner lizardsystems.com/wi-fi-scanner/
Reply
Atar6 years ago
Acrylic WiFi v2.1 can discover and reveal hidden WiFi names as it supports monitor mode capture under windows
Mac open software from unidentified developer. acrylicwifi.com/en/wlan-software/wlan-scanner-acrylic-wifi-free/
Reply
Thanks a lot for this , it helps me a lot with my research :)
Reply
Jeison Cardoso7 years ago
Acrylic WiFi Reply
tarlogic.com/en/products/acrylic-wifi
Thanks Raymond
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Ralph13 years ago
Raymond, this is awesome. thanks man!
Free Software For ScanningReplyBest Mac Software For Scanning Wifi Networks And Frequencies TvLeave a ReplyComments are closed.
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