Analyze wireless networks using NetSpot. Diagnostics of Wi-Fi networks and detection of free channels
The article discusses free software running Microsoft Windows, which allows for a preliminary analysis of the radio coverage of the territory for the presence of third-party equipment operating in the Wi-Fi range 2.4/5 GHz. A comparison was made of the technical features of the software under consideration.
Introduction
In wireless networks, the communication channel between the transmitter and the receiver is open, which greatly complicates the analysis of radio signal propagation in the territory of the designed network. What's even worse is that neighboring wireless equipment can have a negative impact on your network through this "open" channel. Therefore, radio survey of the territory plays a very important role in the design of a Wi-Fi network. Some experts claim that radio inspection is a completely unnecessary stage, citing the fact that surrounding networks are also constantly appearing, developing, modernizing, moving, etc. But you must agree, it’s better to know in advance that there is a gigantic network of points living near you access of a neighboring office, and take appropriate measures (for example, move to other non-overlapping frequency channels), rather than later encounter problems with radio wave interference and, as a result, low throughput of your “open” communication channel.
Today there is a sufficient amount of software that allows you to assess the level of the surrounding electromagnetic background in the 2.4/5 GHz ranges. This article discusses programs that run under OS Windows.
1. Acrylic Wi-Fi
Acrylic Wi-Fi is the newest free network scanner that displays available wireless networks, their technical characteristics (protocol, channel, maximum speed, etc.) as well as information about their level of protection. The program even provides a list of Wi-Fi passwords that are used by default access points.
Acrylic has a paid professional version with advanced capabilities to detect wireless security issues. Also in this version, the program performs a radio survey of the territory and offers to select the optimal channels on the network to ensure the most correct operation. The appearance of the program is shown in Figure 1:
Figure 1 - Appearance of the Acrylic Wi-Fi program
In the free version of the program, its capabilities remain rather meager, limited to the output of the information shown in the screenshot above (Figure 1), namely: transmitted by the access point - SSID; its MAC address; RSSI - signal strength; Chan - number of the channel used for transmission; 802.11x - Wi-Fi transmission standard; Max Speed - maximum speed; WEP/WPA/PWA2 - encryption type. An excellent feature is that the program shows which access points have WPS 1.0/2.0 mode enabled, because it’s no secret that this WPS 1.0 has long been a kind of “back door” for any network. It also displays related information about the manufacturer (Vendor) and the type of network in which the access point operates (Type), or in other words: does it have access to the Internet, or there is no point in breaking it (just kidding). For added drama, a graph is displayed showing changes in signal strength from various access points over time (bottom right in Figure 1).
In general, the free version of Acrylic Wi-Fi is limited to the listed set of functions. Quite meager, considering that long before this program, software appeared that was capable of more.
It’s hard to find fault with the professional version of the program; quite a lot of useful functions have been crammed into it, for example, the program itself will indicate access points that negatively affect your network. Acrylic allows you to generate reports on the status of Wi-Fi networks with detailed characteristics of access points and transfer them to a communicator or administrator’s computer.
Resume on Acrylic Wi-Fi: When working with this program, I got the feeling that it was made entirely on the Kali Linux platform, with the only difference being that the graphical shell was added for working under Windows. The paid version is complemented by the fact that it allows you to generate reports in HTML format and helps the user make decisions about setting up the network without going into technical nuances. Thus, I would rate the free version of the program three points on a five-point scale; it can be classified as software for “beginners”; the paid version of the program deserves a slightly higher rating of three plus (due to the generation of reports). However, overall the program remains weak in its technical capabilities. In addition, it contains a bunch of distracting links leading to the developer’s website and profiles on google+, Facebook, twitter, etc. Which overall creates the impression not of a technical application, but of a program for entertainment, when, out of nothing to do, I decided to “monitor” my neighbors’ Wi-Fi access points.
2. Wi-Fi Scanner
This software can show detailed information about 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac networks near you, as well as access point parameters and signal strength. The program also has a paid and free version, unlike the previous software, they do not differ in functionality. After installing the program, you can use it for 30 days, after which you need to register it - free for personal use, or buy it in case of commercial use of the software. The appearance of the program is shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 - Appearance of the Wi-Fi Scanner program
As in the previous software, the main column displays information about available networks, but the information is more extensive. Availability of additional columns: Achievable rate - actually achievable data transfer rate, Channel Width - used channel width, Spatial stream - spatial streams (here we are talking about MIMO technology), Channel Utilization - how loaded the data transmission channel is, and more extensive information about the security protocols used , and specifically the encryption type: CCMP/TKIP/WEP/ or a combination thereof.
The free version of this program includes all the features listed in the professional version of Acrylic Wi-Fi. In particular: Figure 3 shows a graph of the signal level from available Wi-Fi networks. Very convenient and intuitive.
Figure 3
Figure 4 provides extended information about one of the surrounding networks. In this case, this network is of the same name Rostelecom.
Figure 4
Resume on WiFi Scanner: In my opinion, the design of this program is quite “easy” in terms of perceiving the displayed information, and the location of all the buttons and tabs is intuitive. This program is an excellent solution for private use, and for commercial use the prices are reasonable. The program deserves an excellent rating.
3.Homedale
Belongs to the "weak" class. From a technical point of view, the program has glitches and shortcomings, but it works on the latest versions of Windows. The program is easy to use, but it only allows you to evaluate the signal level coming from the access point and some information already listed in previous software products. The program does not see equipment manufacturers and does not always determine the model of the access point whose network it has detected. Moreover, the signal strength from the access point is also not always able to be determined. The appearance of the main program window is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5
The program does not provide filters in any way, therefore, for example, on the graph of the power distribution of available access points by channel, it is impossible to remove connections that are “uninteresting” for us, so it simply shows such uninformative stuffing (Figure 6):
Figure 6
Considering the incomplete performance of this program, it is rated, to put it mildly, “unsatisfactory.” The program is quite weak compared to other similar free software distributed throughout the Internet.
4. Outdated monitoring programs
The list of outdated programs includes those that either do not support “modern” Wi-Fi standards - IEEE 802.11n/ac, or no longer work under Windows 7/8/8.1/10. And the appearance of these programs is quite depressing, which is not pleasing to the eye.
Network Stumbler is a lightweight wireless network monitoring tool for Windows. Its development stopped at supporting 802.11 a/b/g standards, that is, it monitors the network only in the 2.4 band, excluding five gigahertz. The software works on Microsoft Windows systems up to and including XP.
WirelessNetView was once an excellent tool for monitoring Wi-Fi networks, but is now somewhat outdated.
Wireless Network Watcher - originally created for detecting and analyzing Wi-Fi networks. I used it myself once; the utility scanned local networks, including wireless ones. The program displays a list of all devices currently connected to the scanned network. The device information output table displays information such as: IP, MAC address, device name and adapter manufacturer. The list can be exported to HTML. On the issue of analyzing Wi-Fi networks, her attitude is rather mediocre, because in order to get information about a Wi-Fi network, you need to connect to it. In fact, it was included in this review simply because of its specific name.
Instead of a conclusion
The Acrylic Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Scanner programs listed above belong to the class of those free programs that keep up with the times and are capable of monitoring access points running on the relatively recently introduced IEEE 802.11ac. In addition to the programs reviewed, there are also no less famous ones that were not included in this review, among which inSSIDer is an entirely paid software recently. In addition, a large number of programs running Android OS, Mac OS and Linux are available on the network. But that's another story.
There are dozens for Windows, but such as WiFi SiStr unique of its kind. This is an extremely simple application that will allow you, the user, to find out the signal strength of any Wi-Fi point. Of course, if it is within the reach of the sensor.
Interestingly, the wireless signal strength is shown digitally on the screen. After you click downloadWiFi SiStr and install the program, a small panel will appear on the desktop. You can place it in any part of the screen: bottom, top or even in the middle. It will show digital and graphical signal level values.
It often happens that a user cannot access a website for unknown reasons - especially if you are connected via Wi-Fi. There is another situation: the messaging client periodically interrupts the connection - you have to constantly reconnect. To solve this problem, just look at the signal status panel and make sure that it is sufficient for stable and fast Internet. If you have the WiFi SiStr program, then this is quite easy to do.
Features of the WiFi SiStr program:
- Flexible in setup. Despite the simple interface of the panel, you can even customize it. Just right-click on the status bar and a menu with settings will open.
- Convenient. You can monitor the signal level directly on the desktop of your PC or laptop.
- It does not consume a lot of system resources, it is not just small - it has a miniature size.
- For WiFi SiStr to work correctly, you will need .NETFramework versions 1.1 and higher.
- When launched, it always minimizes to tray and does not interfere with computer work at all.
It is often necessary to quickly check the WiFi signal level in order to select the most free channel with good reception quality. A simple android application Wifi Analyzer is perfect for this task.
With its help, you can easily not only determine free channels, but also check the quality of Wi-Fi reception in different places in an apartment or cafe, or view signal changes over time. After launching, a graph will be visible in the main window of the program, which will display visible wireless networks, the reception level and the channels on which they operate. If they intersect on the graph, this will be clearly displayed.
You can also look at the “rating” of channels, similar to any star ratings, which clearly shows how appropriate it is to choose one or another of them at the moment. Another feature of the application is the analysis of Wi-Fi signal strength. First, you will need to select for which wireless network the test is being carried out, and then look at the reception level, while nothing prevents you from moving around the area or checking for changes in the quality of reception depending on the location of the router.
It would also not be amiss to add that our interest in the WiFi network can be not only in passive analysis. Using your mobile phone, you can also try to guess the password for a wireless access point. For this you will need an application called WIBR.
WIBR is a unique application with which you can hack your neighbor’s Wi-Fi and use his Internet for free. This is not a joke, WIBR works on the principle of automatically selecting passwords (brute force) for Wi-Fi, and if the password is simple, then the probability of guessing the password is close to 100 percent.
Vibr supports hacking several Wi-Fi networks at once, and shows information on one screen; when you click on one of the networks, you can see detailed statistics on the progress of work: the number of passwords per minute, how many password options have already been checked and how many are left.
The application supports loading your own dictionaries; to do this, you need to download them (or write all the possible passwords in notepad yourself and save them in txt format), specify the path in the program itself. Especially for our users, we have added more than 10 dictionaries with the most common passwords.
Are your neighbors shamelessly stealing your Internet? Let's check it out - a small and free computer program WiFi Guard will allow you to quickly scan your WI-FI network and identify Internet thieves.
Today, many Internet users have a WI-FI router at home that creates a wireless network. This is very convenient and allows you to get rid of wires throughout the apartment. But there are people (usually evil neighbors) who can take advantage of your carelessness and connect to this network.
Unfortunately, many people forget to put basic password to their wi-fi network and don’t even suspect that someone is connected to them for free. For these people, they came up with the WiFi Guard program, which will make them think about security.
Don't have a WI-FI password?
Then we are coming to you - we love free Internet...
WiFi Guard - the entire WI-FI network in the palm of your hand
The free WiFi Guard computer program understands Russian (and many others) perfectly...
...and immediately after installation it opens the settings window...
...in which you need to set your network adapter. It usually has an IP address starting with 192.168...
In the second tab, you can enable a sound notification when any device connects to your Wi-Fi network...
After setting up the program, you can start scanning...
Identify your devices on the network by IP or mac addresses and name them for easy recognition next time - right-click on the line and “Edit”...
If you don’t know the addresses of your devices, simply, using the method of elimination, disconnect them one by one from the network and rescan the wi-fi network.
Now experts will say that the network can be viewed using the system, but the WiFi Guard program has advantages - a sound alert when a new device is connected, it can scan the network at a specified interval, and detects devices with firewalls that do not respond to ping.
WiFi Guard does not protect your wi-fi network, but only displays connected devices!
After identifying other people's devices on your network, take security measures - at least set a password (or change it) in the router. For more powerful protection, the Internet can help you - there are many tips and various programs you can find for this.
Download WiFi Guard
At the very bottom of the page she lives there...
Until new interesting and useful computer programs.
09/08/2018 at 16:58 (6 months ago)
Hello, Sergey. I have very paranormal problems with these gadgets, PCs, routes, etc. Today I prepared a “gift” again. In short, the gist of it is this: the TL-WR841N/ND behaves unstable (it is both an N and an ND model). At first it’s the usual bullshit (for me) - when stability breaks, the laptop goes into BSOD with an error about the network. I have long been accustomed to the fact that I have “anomalous” devices, and the same garbage happens with a smartphone. The simplest example is when on. telephony activity (when the smart phone was called). If at this time you do not remove the smart phone from the PC at a distance of about 0.5-1.0 meters, then the PC goes into BSOD with (!) an unknown error (stupidly empty after “STOP .....”). It rarely happens that the OS simply freezes, and when the call ends, it hangs. Yes, it’s complete nonsense, but it’s all true, which is sad... By the way, this kind of garbage only happens with this laptop and smart phone - it’s friends with the rest. It was the turn of the router. As I said before, the PC goes into BSOD with a network error when the route loses stability (this is normal, it and the “screen of death” are best friends!). The smartphone is stupidly turned off. from the route (smacks of self-defense). At this time, on the route, the settings indicator (gear) begins to statically blink strangely at intervals of 1 second, which tells the owner of the equipment not good news. The Wi-Fi indicator also increases the frequency by about 0.5 seconds and switches to a static blinking frequency. Already (after ~30 minutes) the route was completely trashed. Immediately when turned on. The “gear” starts blinking and the connection to the route is very good. for a long time, and not always. Together with this “circus” we are losing connection through the marshturn. Already changed channels; frequency (or whatever it is); I have already updated the firmware (installed successfully); I also reset it to the factory ones; I changed the SSID to the Latin alphabet, taking into account without spaces, I thought maybe I had been “infected” with the well-known garbage called “Only Latin alphabet, numbers and underscores”; I set it to “open network” mode (without a password), I also thought that maybe it was “barking” at the encryption - whatever I did there, but the result did not change. Through direct everything is fine. I would also like to note that the firewood for the network drive is fresh, etc. (well, you might think that the network interferes with maintaining route stability... after all, everything is possible). After this presentation, I have one question: Has Routh served his time and taken a “pension”? I forgot to say that the route is... well, about 4 years old. This is the “circus” going on around me. What do you recommend?
P.S. Sorry for such a long text - a habit...
09/08/2018 at 18:29 (6 months ago)
Hello. I don’t even know what to say :)
Unstable operation of the router is a common issue. Especially when the router has been working for 4 years. There may be a problem with the power supply. It does not produce the required voltage and the router does not work properly. Maybe the capacitors on the TL-WR841N/ND board itself are swollen. This also happens.
It’s strange how you described how the indicators work. The gear and Wi-Fi lights should be blinking. This is their normal state.
It is unlikely that the blue screen on the laptop appears due to the connection to the network of this router. The BSOD may appear due to an error in the driver of the network card or Wi-Fi adapter, but this is unlikely to have anything to do with the router.
Maybe you have some source of strong interference there.
09.09.2018 at 21:28 (6 months ago)
It's not strange at all. My gear rarely blinks, but now it’s too fast (faster, weird). I already know my junk... The power supply has nothing to do with it - I tried the prescribed voltage higher and lower, nothing changed - my equipment cannot be “bribed” with such garbage. The capacitors seem to be normal, not swollen. As for BSOD: I can’t confirm what’s described. There would be a chance to find out if it wrote an error in a conflict with smart. Also, do not forget that our equipment reacts to “waves”. I tore down the firewood for the network drive and installed a new one. It’s certainly unlikely with the adapter - it’s BSOD friendly from the very beginning because of the smart phone. I’ll also add that there are no appliances nearby, such as microwaves of any kind, etc. — the route is on the table where the laptop is, and there is nothing like it around. Hmm, I forgot to correct: BSOD occurs when the route stability is terminated, and not when connected! If we remember “smart and PC”, then the smart emits some kind of “waves” that the laptop does not like. Therefore, there is a fact that the route does the same.
Here’s a test I did, by the way, to find out whether the problem might actually be in the firewood (about the BSOD):
1. When connecting to a router using a Wi-Fi adapter, a BSOD appears with a Wi-Fi adapter driver error.
2. Through the cable to the router - BSOD with a direct connection driver error.
I Googled errors, and judging by the articles, firewood “falls” with a critical hit (when the stability of the route bus breaks), which causes “our friend”.
Now there is no way to repeat this, and also look at the error codes again - the route immediately turns on instability when turned on, and no longer wants to connect anyone to it. The laptop only freezes for ~1 second (if the Wi-Fi module is enabled in the OS), and so does the smart phone, which is strange (our technology reacts to waves, right?)…
In short - complete nonsense and a circus. By the way, recently “hemorrhoids” reappeared again: Through the cable it shows that there is Internet, but it’s not there! I thought everything - as if the “straight” firewood had flown away. I asked my neighbors for a laptop for 5 minutes. - nothing has changed there. After 10 min. “my torture” was over and now everything was back to normal. Well, judging by your answer, it’s time to change the “Internet distributor”. Hotspot Windows 10 is distributing crap - you need to wait a couple of minutes for it to start distributing the Internet. Oh, how I love these “Adventures on my ass” - I really don’t have anything to do. Okay, I see that it is no longer possible to significantly “reanimate” him. Well, see you then, Sergey. Be healthy!