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MiniStumbler is a very user-friendly wireless network scanner that listens for beacon signals coming from open and broadcasting WLANs. In addition, this program will provide a plethora of information that makes it very useful for both hackers and the security professionals. As you will see, MiniStumbler might be small, but it packs a load of power in its functionality.

Installing MiniStumbler

MiniStumbler is a basic one-file program that simply needs to be downloaded, unzipped, and placed in the My Documents shared folder that is used to pass files from host to palmtop. After the ministumbler.exe file is located on the iPAQ's file system, the program is ready to use. However, the requirements are very strict with regards to WNICs and drivers.

Using MiniStumbler

MiniStumber is just as easy to use as its big brother, NetStumbler. Assuming a properly working WNIC is installed, MiniStumbler will execute and inform the user that the program is sniffing by displaying the phrase NO AP; otherwise the phrase No wireless will be displayed. If you are in the presence of an access point, the status message will read 1 AP. In addition, if you have a GPS unit connected to the iPAQ, the program will display GPS On.

Because the program executes in a running status, there is not much more to do other than search for wireless networks. The readout is straightforward, although it does require scrolling. However, most of the important information is available on the main screen.

The first thing you will notice is a small colored circle with the MAC address of the access point or WNIC, the SSID, and a colored circle representing the signal strength. The following lists the colors and their meanings:

• Green— Good signal with a highly stable connection.

• Yellow— Mediocre signal with a semi-stable connection. To use the WLAN, you need approximately 30% strength.

• Red— Low signal with unstable and intermittent connection. This connection will probably be useless, with the exception of information gathering.

• Gray— No signal.

• Lock— WEP is enabled and the connection is using encryption.

Other useful features of MiniStumbler include the following:

• Auto save scans

• Adjustable scan speeds

• Auto reconfigure depending on the WNIC

• Interoperability with GPS devices

• Displaying the WLAN channel, Type, signal-to-noise ratio, signal strength, nose, latitude and longitude (if GPS is being used), first and last time seen, and more

• Option to sort on any of the capture information

• Extremely mobile!

As you can see, this program is a powerful tool for any security auditor. Because this program is available on both laptop and Pocket PC-based computers, with basically the same functionality in each, the Stumbler suite is a necessity. The only disadvantage of this program is the limited WNIC support. MiniStumbler will only support two types of WNICs: the ORiNOCO WaveLAN and the Compaq WL110. Other cards might work, such as the Dell TrueMobile, but it might take some tweaking and research to accomplish this.