FAQ

[Thorn]

These are a kind of a free association FAQ, or an Open Source FAQ, if you will. It's simple. Think of a question (and the answer) that is repeated again and again and again, ad naseum. Post it to this list in the Q: and A: format, along with the Subject. Like so:

Subject: NetStumber- General
Q:When's the next release on NetStumbler?
A: There is no set date for the next release of NetStumbler. Marius Milner (the author) works on NS at his own pace. He does not issue release dates.

I realise that some people will have additions/corrections/clarifications/addendums to Q&A that another might have written. If so, mark it a such:

Subject: NetStumber- General (ADDENDUM)
Q:When's the next release on NetStumbler?
A: NS is freeware. Freeware doesn't normally have release dates.

Subjects (others are certainly welcome)
NetStumbler- General
NetStumbler- Windows Version
NetStumbler- MiniStumbler Version
Hardware- General
Hardware- 802.11b Cards
Hardware- GPS

COME ON PEOPLE! Start posting those Q&A. We can all help on this, and finally get the FAQ we all want (and none of us wants to write.)
========================================

As of 04-23-2003, user Novilio posted his excellent Wardriving FAQ for Newbies

If you are seeking information about wardriving in general, it is highly suggested that you start there.

[Thorn]

SUBJECT: NetStumbler - General

Q: Does my (card brandname/chipset) work with NetStumbler?

A:Look up the appropriate version of NS, and your OS:



Network Stumbler 0.4.0
Windows XP Professional, XP Home, Windows 2000:

Network Stumbler 0.4.0 works with cards using the HERMES chipset:
Lucent Technologies WaveLAN/IEEE (Agere ORiNOCO)
Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series (PCMCIA and mini-PCI)
Avaya Wireless PC Card
Toshiba Wireless LAN Card (PCMCIA and built-in)
Compaq WL110; Cabletron/Enterasys Roamabout
Elsa Airlancer MC-11
ARtem ComCard 11Mbps
IBM High Rate Wireless LAN PC Card
1stWave 1ST-PC-DSS11IS, DSS11IG, DSS11ES, DSS11EG

In addition:

Most 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g wireless LAN adapters should work on Windows XP. Some may work on Windows 2000 too. Many of them report inaccurate Signal strength, and if using the "NDIS 5.1" card access method then Noise level will not be reported. This includes cards based on Atheros, Atmel, Broadcom, Cisco and Centrino chip sets.*


Network Stumbler 0.4.0
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME:

Network Stumbler 0.4.0 works with cards using the HERMES chipset:
Lucent Technologies WaveLAN/IEEE (Agere ORiNOCO)
Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series (PCMCIA and mini-PCI)
Avaya Wireless PC Card
Toshiba Wireless LAN Card (PCMCIA and built-in)
Compaq WL110; Cabletron/Enterasys Roamabout
Elsa Airlancer MC-11
ARtem ComCard 11Mbps
IBM High Rate Wireless LAN PC Card
1stWave 1ST-PC-DSS11IS, DSS11IG, DSS11ES, DSS11EG

Network Stumbler 0.4.0 DOES NOT WORK with cards using any other chipset under Win9x.
==============================================



Network Stumbler 0.3.30
Windows XP:

Network Stumbler 0.3.30 works with cards using the HERMES chipset:
Same as above.

Network Stumbler 0.3.30 MAY with cards using the Prism chipset, by using the NDIS 5.1 drivers *:
3Com
Cisco
Compaq WL100
Dell TrueMobile 1100 Series
D-Link
IBM built-in cards
Intel
Intermec
Linksys
Symbol
SMC
Sony built-in cards
Some 802.11a and 802.11g cards
==============================================


Network Stumbler 0.3.30
Windows 2000:

Network Stumbler 0.3.30 works with cards using the HERMES chipset:
Same as above.

Network Stumbler 0.3.30 MAY with cards using the Prism chipset:
3Com
Cisco
Compaq WL100
Dell TrueMobile 1100 Series
D-Link
IBM built-in cards
Intel
Intermec
Linksys
Symbol
SMC
Sony built-in cards

Many users have reported problems with the Buffalo Airstation (Melco) WLI-PCM-L11.This thread explains how you may be able to get it working in Windows 2000.
==============================================


Network Stumbler 0.3.30
Windows 95, 98, 98SE, ME:

Network Stumbler 0.3.30 works with cards using the HERMES chipset:
Lucent Technologies WaveLAN/IEEE (Agere ORiNOCO)
Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series (PCMCIA and mini-PCI)
Avaya Wireless PC Card
Toshiba Wireless LAN Card (PCMCIA and built-in)
Compaq WL110; Cabletron/Enterasys Roamabout
Elsa Airlancer MC-11
ARtem ComCard 11Mbps
IBM High Rate Wireless LAN PC Card
1stWave 1ST-PC-DSS11IS, DSS11IG, DSS11ES, DSS11EG

Network Stumbler 0.4.0 DOES NOT WORK with cards using any other chipset under Win9x.
==============================================


Network Stumbler 0.3.23
All Windows, version 95 or better.

Network Stumbler 0.3.23 works with cards using the HERMES chipset:
Lucent Technologies WaveLAN/IEEE (Agere ORiNOCO)
Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series (PCMCIA and mini-PCI)
Avaya Wireless PC Card
Toshiba Wireless LAN Card (PCMCIA and built-in)
Compaq WL110
Cabletron/Enterasys Roamabout
Elsa Airlancer MC-11
ARtem ComCard 11Mbps
IBM High Rate Wireless LAN PC Card
1stWave 1ST-PC-DSS11IS, DSS11IG, DSS11ES, DSS11EG


Network Stumbler 0.4.0 DOES NOT WORK with cards using any other chipset under Win9x.
==============================================



* Any card using the NDIS driver gets a fixed noise measurement of -100db, making for an inaccurate measurement of SNR.


Additional info on the NDIS 5.1 driver from agentgrn.


Futher NDIS information, 10-19-2003:].

ck3k reports that his Cisco correctly reports Signal and Noise under NDIS. Under the
Cisco Client Utlity > Preferences

Signal Display Units
() Percent
() dBm

[TIntruder]

SUBJECT>Software>General

QUESTION: Where can I get (insert software here)?

ANSWER: If you are seeking commercial retail software, you need to purchase it or contact the vendor for trial/demo versions.
There is also a tremendous variety of shareware/freeware available. If you download such an application and find it useful and intend to continue use, ethical considerations dictate that you should pay for it or contribute to the author if provisions are made for such.
Most folks are also aware of "Warez", or copies of commercial software floating around the nether reaches of the internet. One sure way to insure you don't tap into Warez is to publically ask "Where can I get" and expect an equally public reply from somebody you don't know. If you are seeking Warez, you need to do your own searches. Even uncommon software can be located within a few minutes of searching.
As always, obey copyright and licensing laws.

[g0tr00t]

Question: What is the difference between the Gold and Silver Orinoco cards?

Answer: The Silver model provides 64-bit WEP encryption while the Gold card provides 128-bit WEP encryption. Other than that the cards are identical.

Question: Can the Silver Orinoco 64-bit be upgraded to a Gold 128-bit?

Answer: Thanks to Fozzy_wozzy_woo, Due to all Intermec (www.intermec.com) UAP's (Universal Access Points) being 128bit encryption and use the lucent wavelan cards. They will also accept the silver and bronze cards. (don't buy bronze...2mb only). there is no difference between the silver and the gold cards except for a function being switched off inside one of the chips. So to activate the chip to turn it to a gold card. simply take the wavelan card out of the 2100,2101,2102 with firmware version 1.61 (you can update it for free from the website) and place in your silver card. boot the UAP and wait. leave it for about 5minthen disconnect and replace old card. You now have a LUCENT GOLD CARD. that will now do 128bit encryption instead of 64 bit. at no extra cost. it does work the reason it works is because Intermec AP's work at 128 and 64 wep, and when they buy the OEM cards they are silver. However when they are placed in the AP the AP changes them to 128 Gold cards. this is so orinoco / wavelan can sell the silver cards to producers who only pay for silver. Due to Intermec and Lucent at the time working so close to develop the card they had the ability to have this tool. But I think they lost out as they hold the Patent for Duel radios and it looks like Intermec swapped the Due radio patent for a cheaper price Wavelan card and the ability to turn them up to 128 bit encryption.

[updated 6-14-2003]
an alternative method is to simply put jam your ORiNOCO card into the Airport slot of any Apple Macintosh which contains such a slot. since the Airport cards lack a built-in antenna the slot is a bit short, but if you carefully insert the card (it will be slightly tilted due to the protruding antenna portion) into an Airport slot and then run the 2.0.2 Updater, it will flash firmware 8.12 into the card, and at the same time enable 128-bit WEP. The card will still appear to be a Silver, but if you use the Client Manager to view its properties, you will see "Enhanced WEP Encryption allowed," which means you can use 128-bit WEP. Thus, the card is functionally equivalent to a Gold. Be careful not to run any more firmware updates on your Windows machine, because they will make it revert back to a regular 64-bit WEP Silver card.
http://forums.netstumbler.com/showth...&threadid=1655

There was also a set of software which was purported to work on Windows machines, posted by MartinLbb on the wifi-paris site, but it has been taken offline. I personally have not been able to make it work but if anyone wants to give it a crack feel free to contact me - lincomatic

[updated 6-30-2003]
the nextechwireless mirror of the windows-based upgrade procedure appears to be back online at
http://www.nextechwireless.net/suppo...ldwindows.html [IMHO, this method is unadulterated crap, and doesn't work - lincomatic]

[updated 20040608]
use lincomatic's alchemy under windows to do the conversion. download it from

http://www.geocities.com/lincomatic/software.html

info on how to use it in this thread:

Lucent silver to gold

[db8tr]

Category: Netstumbler - Windows

Question: What do the numbers on the bottom right window of Netstumbler mean?

Answer: The numbers are: number of APs filtered vs. the number of total APs. So if you have 8 APs, 2 with Wep and have Wep as a filter it would show 2/8. With no filters, it would show 8/8.

Answer contributed by: wi-figuy in this thread .

[db8tr]

Category: Hardware - General

Question: How do I route the cable from a mag mount antenna into my car? Can I shut the door on it?

Answer: Shutting the door on the cable is generally not a good idea. See this thread for a visual example of how just a little damage to the cable can effect signal strength. A popular method of routing the cable is through an open window. Another idea is to mount the antenna on the trunk of your car and close the trunk door on it. The weatherstripping there is supposed to be more forgiving.

[Thorn]

CATEGORY: NetStumbler - General

Q: What is the difference between SNR+ and SNR in Netstumbler?
A: Anytime you see the + that means that is the best of that category you have gotten off that AP. In this instance the SNR+ would be the best Signal to Noise Ratio that you have gotten off that AP and the Signal+ and Noise+ would be the highest signal and lowest noise from that AP.

Question by Lisa
Answer by acidrayne

[jher]

question: where can I buy bare gps cables for my garmin eTrex?

Answer: http://shop.garmin.com/accessory.jsp...0%2D10205%2D00

[Gonarat]

Q: How can I make NetStumber play a sound when a new Access Point is found? Can it play different sounds or midi tones for different signal strengths?

A: To make NetStumbler play a sound when a new Access Point is found, take the .wav file you want it to use and save it as ir_begin.wav in your Windows home directory (usually C:\windows or C:\winnt).

This is the only sound that NetStumber can currently make -- it cannot (yet) play midi tones for different signal strengths. Marius has that on the wish list, it may make it to a future release.

[wanman]

Q: Will Orinoco drivers work with Avaya cards

A:
1) No although the chipset is the same (Lucent technologies) there is a difference in the binary address on the wireless network card, which identifies the card as either an Orinoco or Avaya.

2) This can also be seen when loading either of the cards into Win2000 as the Orinoco card will ask for the driver wlluc48.sys and the Avaya will ask for wlava48.sys, very close but not the same.

Wanman

[Ashlar]

Category: MiniStumbler

Question: Why doesn't my GPS work when connected to my serial port on my PocketPC? I see 'config error' in the GPS coordinates area of the window when I enable the GPS in MiniStumbler.

Answer: If you have a keyboard for your PocketPC device, you probably need to disable the driver before using any other device connected to the serial port.

[Ashlar]

Category: MiniStumbler

Question: I set my GPS port wrong, and now when I start up MiniStumbler, the application and / or device locks up. Help!!

Answer: Brace yourself. You need to get a registry editor. http://www.phm.lu/Products/PocketPC/...cation=regedit. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Sofware/Bogosoft/MiniStumbler/Settings/GPS Port and chage the value to the proper port.

Found this one myself while setting up my GPS, and not having any luck (see previous post *grin*).

[blackwave]

QUESTION:
Can someone please post the full version of x ?

Answer:
No. Do NOT broadcast this question. Do NOT publicly post information regarding this. This board and its members do not support, advocate, promote, or condone software piracy. Find the trial version of x from x's official site, download it and try it out. If you like it buy it, if you don't like it, don't buy it. If you can't afford it, get a better job, sell some of your junk on eBay, or write your own software.

[Thorn]

Category: NetStumbler - General

Q:What does the + and the * represent adjacent to the displayed channel number? There seem to be three states, i.e., channel number alone, channel number + and channel number *.

A: n alone means you have seen Channel n sometime during this NS session.
n* means you are connected to the network right now on Channel n.
n+ means you have been connected recently on Channel n.

Asked by Tron of Borg and hkelley
Answered by Marius, edited by Thorn

[Thorn]

Category: NetStumbler - General

Q: What do the purple bars mean on the signal strength plot?

A: They show where no signal was received, so that you can see when you went out of range.

Asked by Tron Of Borg
Answered by Marius