Putting together wireless hardware setup

08-17-2001

Hey Folk,

I'm new to the subject of wardriving and wanted to purchase the gear necessary to take part in this. My main reason is that I'm a network manager and I don't think my company is taking the issue of security for its wireless rollout that seriously. I need to prove to them that they need to take it seriously.

They're a Cisco shop, so we're using Cisco's Aironet solution. If I purchase a Lucent silver or gold card, will I be able to sniff, using ethereal, the WLAN packets? As well, what would you recommend I purchase for a magnet mounted antennae and a gps for my laptop? Are there gps pc cards, or do you purchase any old gps and link it via a serial cable to the laptop? I'm looking to use Netstumbler for Windows and as well I want to keep my equipment costs as minimal as possible!!!! I don't mind spending money, I just want to make purchases that really make sense.

Thanks

08-19-2001

Check out the 'capturing encrypted packets' thread under Netstumbler Windows. Toomer posted his info on what he is currently using. A combo of Orinoco card and Cisco to allow for the sniffing.

So until Netstumbler allows Cisco cards or even better incorporates a sniffer with it. :-) 2 cards seem to be needed for definite good reliability.

John K.

09-10-2001

I'm working on the same kind of thing and with very similar reasons. I have pair of Cisco 350 cards and an Access Point. I'm currently using a Cisco 350 in a W2K box and another in a Linux box. It's amazing the number of times that one will get hits and the other won't. The Cisco Link Status Meter and Aironet Client Utility have been my main W2K tools so far. I expect to recieve an Orinoco Gold card tomorrow so NetStumbler will probably replace both of the other utilities.

One the linux box, I'm just using Ethereal. All I can manage to get is broadcast traffic....but that's enough to prove there's a problem!

I'm in the midle (nearing the end I hope) of getting a FreeBSD (4.4 RC4 has Aironet drivers) box set up. I expect to be able to do promiscuous siffing and possibly WEP cracking (at least in the lab) with that setup. Actually, the box is up and the Aironet stuff works great - I'm relinking things right now to get promicuous mode working.

08-17-2001	#1 (permalink)
Posts: n/a	Putting together wireless hardware setup Hey Folk, I'm new to the subject of wardriving and wanted to purchase the gear necessary to take part in this. My main reason is that I'm a network manager and I don't think my company is taking the issue of security for its wireless rollout that seriously. I need to prove to them that they need to take it seriously. They're a Cisco shop, so we're using Cisco's Aironet solution. If I purchase a Lucent silver or gold card, will I be able to sniff, using ethereal, the WLAN packets? As well, what would you recommend I purchase for a magnet mounted antennae and a gps for my laptop? Are there gps pc cards, or do you purchase any old gps and link it via a serial cable to the laptop? I'm looking to use Netstumbler for Windows and as well I want to keep my equipment costs as minimal as possible!!!! I don't mind spending money, I just want to make purchases that really make sense. Thanks

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08-19-2001	#2 (permalink)
Posts: n/a	Check out the 'capturing encrypted packets' thread under Netstumbler Windows. Toomer posted his info on what he is currently using. A combo of Orinoco card and Cisco to allow for the sniffing. So until Netstumbler allows Cisco cards or even better incorporates a sniffer with it. :-) 2 cards seem to be needed for definite good reliability. John K.

09-10-2001	#3 (permalink)
Posts: n/a	I'm working on the same kind of thing and with very similar reasons. I have pair of Cisco 350 cards and an Access Point. I'm currently using a Cisco 350 in a W2K box and another in a Linux box. It's amazing the number of times that one will get hits and the other won't. The Cisco Link Status Meter and Aironet Client Utility have been my main W2K tools so far. I expect to recieve an Orinoco Gold card tomorrow so NetStumbler will probably replace both of the other utilities. One the linux box, I'm just using Ethereal. All I can manage to get is broadcast traffic....but that's enough to prove there's a problem! I'm in the midle (nearing the end I hope) of getting a FreeBSD (4.4 RC4 has Aironet drivers) box set up. I expect to be able to do promiscuous siffing and possibly WEP cracking (at least in the lab) with that setup. Actually, the box is up and the Aironet stuff works great - I'm relinking things right now to get promicuous mode working.