Simple solutions for tracking Wi-Fi networks in an office environment?
Hi all, I'm looking for ways to keep WiFi access under control in our office. We have a Panera and a other few open hotspots around us, and I just wanted to monitor what was out there and help keep everyone on the right networks.
I've heard some people used Back Track LiveCD, but wondering what other options people have found helpful.
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ASKED:
March 24, 2010 5:36 PM
UPDATED:
April 2, 2010 4:24 PM
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I'm not sure you can easily keep wi-fi under control in the enviroment you describe. If there are open, unsecured networks near yours, it would be very difficult to keep your client computers from connecting to those networks. One of the best ways to stop this would be to require all your company's computers to use only wired access when in your office and disable wireless access entirely in your office. This may be an inconvenience, but it would ensure that your client computers would not be connected to the public, unsecured network and the company's network at the same time.
<a href="http://www.netstumbler.com/downloads/">Netstumbler</a> and <a href="http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider">inSSIDer</a> are a couple of good tools that could show you what wireless networks are around your office.
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A good place to start finding out how to secure a wireless network is the National Institute of Standards and Technology at the following link:
http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-97/SP800-97.pdf
After you get a better understanding of what your dealing with pay a visit to the PC World site to see how they rate the different tools available for charting & monitoring WiFi sites.
Good Luck
“K”
AirMagnet’s WiFi Analyzer and TamoSoft’s CommView for WiFi are great for this.
Your best bet is to secure your own network. This can be done with simple WEP which will keep the casual hotspot users out, WPA2 will be far more secure, and .11x is just about as secure as you can get.