WiFinder, WiFi Scanner Released

Posted By: Ryan Thursday, May 29, 2003 9:51:13 AM

A new app has been released to make it easier to find a working WiFi connection. WiFinder works on the Palm Tungsten C to scan the airwaves for working 802.11 access points.

WiFinder, now in public beta testing, is designed to facilitate the discovery of 802.11b (WiFi) access points using a Palm Tungsten C handheld. Users can use WiFinder at airports, hotels, restaurants, or shopping malls to verify the presence of WiFi Internet access. WiFinder provides users with a quick visual indication of which access points are open and which are private. System administrators can instantly determine the status of their wireless network.

WiFinder WiFinder displays detailed information about each access point found including:

  • AP Name (SSID)
  • Signal Strength
  • Hardware Address
  • WEP status
  • Channel
  • Access Point Location (with GPS)

WiFinder also contains logging facilities that allow you to export scan data to a standard CSV file on the expansion card so that you can post-analyze it using common spreadsheet and database applications. GPS location information can also be recorded when connected to a GPS unit supplying NEMA data.

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Like Netstumbler

PFloyd @ 5/29/2003 11:41:29 AM #
Sounds very fun.

Sweet.

LotSolarin @ 5/29/2003 12:26:54 PM #
I've been waiting for this app ever since getting my Tungsten C! Time to go check it out...

RE: Sweet.
bcombee @ 5/29/2003 12:32:25 PM #
I just tried it out, and it detected my home network and the networks of the condos on either side of me. :) Scanning seems to be very fast, and the logging feature will work nicely for letting it run while driving to a location. Good work!

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com
RE: Sweet.
Altema @ 5/29/2003 11:42:43 PM #
Gee, maybe I'll let my wife have my T|T after all...

Very cool

coop @ 5/29/2003 12:58:25 PM #
Very cool. NetStumbler for a Palm!

Now I'll have to find out if it would work with any other Palm with an external WiFi adapter...

coop

RE: Very cool
Gepeto @ 5/29/2003 1:30:30 PM #
If it is really like NetStumbler, meaning it doesn't go in monitor mode...bah

Anybody knows if it puts the card in monitor/rfmon mode ? Or does it just send frames and wait for a reply ?

What GPS for my T/C

geoken @ 5/29/2003 2:11:47 PM #
I have used the beta for a couple of weeks and it does a great job of finding Hotspote that I can use to download my e-mail from the curb in front of someone's house. Now that WiFinder has GPS support I want to take advantage of this feature. I would like some recommendations on what HW/SW I should purchase to GPS enable my T/C. Please feel free to e-mail me direct at geoken@wideopenwest.com.
Thanks,
George Kenney


RE: What GPS for my T/C
Kenal0 @ 5/29/2003 2:27:24 PM #
I use an Etrex Venture (although any Etrex will work along with a cable from
http://www.semsons.com/pdaincabforg.html
I use it with the software from Mapopolis. It works great together and Mapopolis will have dynamic routing with voice directions for Palm soon. I have it for PocketPC and it is one of the best naivigation software packages out there.
Kenal0

"WarBiking" with Tungsten C

malibuc @ 5/29/2003 4:49:21 PM #
Yesterday i got my Tungsten C an I immediately installed the program WiFinder.

On my way home with my bicycle the WiFinder Software was active. Result:

11 Access Points found, only 3 WEP encrypted.

Absolutely great Software, I can recommend it.

Tried (and failed) on Clie NX /w WLAN100 Card ...

Token User @ 5/29/2003 5:01:59 PM #
Hey, it was a long shot.
In case anyone else is interested, the app specifically looks for a PalmOS 5.2 ROM on a T|C.

~ "Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed." - DV ~
RE: Tried (and failed) on Clie NX /w WLAN100 Card ...
bcombee @ 5/29/2003 6:18:37 PM #
Palm OS 5.2 has new APIs to manipulate the WiFi hardware that aren't implemented for the Sony CLIEs with a CF 802.11b card. The just released Palm SG SDK has a header file that exposes the WiFi APIs on the device in much more detail than normally available through NetLib.

--
Ben Combee, CodeWarrior for Palm OS technical lead
Programming help at www.palmoswerks.com
RE: Tried (and failed) on Clie NX /w WLAN100 Card ...
adb3 @ 5/29/2003 6:52:13 PM #
How about the NX80v and NX73v, what OS will they run? and if it is 5.2, will Wifinder work?


RE: Tried (and failed) on Clie NX /w WLAN100 Card ...
Mike_W @ 5/29/2003 11:16:04 PM #
WiFinder will not work unless Sony adopts the same API set that the Tungsten C uses. If they do that (or even if they publish their current WiFi API) I will look into adding Sony support to WiFinder.

Previous experience with Sony does not leave me much hope though...

RE: Tried (and failed) on Clie NX /w WLAN100 Card ...
megazone @ 5/30/2003 1:35:38 AM #
Mike, I hope something does break - I'd *LOVE* to have this on my Clie NZ90 and my WL100. One of the deciding factors in my buying the NZ90 instead of the T|C was the BlueTooth support, which I make use of often over my phone's GPRS connection. I don't use WiFi often, since I really only have access in the office - and I'm normally in front of a computer or two. So the T|C doesn't really do what I need.

I've wished for something like NetStumbler for the NZ just because it'd make the WiFi card more useful when out and about - and it it'd be just plain cool to WarWalk. ;-)


-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

I Wonder.....

ozz @ 5/30/2003 1:28:14 AM #
I wonder if the owner of the "hot spot" that Wifinder detected can tell if others are mooching off of his hot spot, or worse, if he/she can see which email addresses were accessed by the "moocher"?

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates (1955-), in 1981
RE: I Wonder.....
megazone @ 5/30/2003 1:33:37 AM #
Many WiFi access points will show the MAC addresses that have connected, so yeah, they could see someone else used it.

And any traffic you send over their network unencrypted can be sniffed, of course. So if you use straight POP3/IMAP/SMTP (none of which are encrypted) then they can see the email. If you send a password in cleartext (say telnet instead of ssh) they'll see that too.


-MegaZone, megazone@megazone.org
Personal Homepage http://www.megazone.org/
Eyrie Productions FanFic http://www.eyrie-productions.com/

RE: I Wonder.....
ozz @ 5/30/2003 1:37:23 AM #
OMG...that's a serious security issue...I hope hot-spot users are very careful and employ encryption in their emails and web sites.

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates (1955-), in 1981
RE: I Wonder.....
toomer @ 5/31/2003 11:11:45 AM #
Traffic can be sniffed one of two ways. First, if you're the owner of the AP, you could obviously put a sniffer on your system and watch any and all traffic going through your connection. After all, it is your connection.

Even more fun, if you lived in a high traffic area where people might be associating with your AP frequently, with a program like dsniff (http://www1.guardianagent.com:8080/downloads.asp?id=30) you could simply collect passwords indefinitely.

The other way is through wireless sniffers - although less common, they do exist. For example, during Comdex this past year a WiFi vendor was lending out free 802.11 cards to attendees so that the attendees could check their email. So, while sitting having my lunch one day I decided to fire up Aeropeek and see what I could find - told it to catch and POP3/SMTP traffic it saw going across the airwaves. In 20 minutes, I had captured several hundred emails. Of course, most were HTML emails ... and they had to be read in a packet dump ... but it did work.

My conclusions?

1. Never use an unencrypted AP. Period.

2. Us geeks have really boring email....



Toomer

www.guardianagent.com
Security Resources for Windows Admins

I Wonder.....

ozz @ 5/30/2003 1:28:14 AM #
I wonder if the owner of the "hot spot" that Wifinder detected can tell if others are mooching off of his hot spot, or worse, if he/she can see which email addresses were accessed by the "moocher"?

"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
- Bill Gates (1955-), in 1981
RE: I Wonder.....
rowlandcutler @ 6/4/2003 8:39:53 AM #
Yes, if they do a survey.

Anyone using Wifi should WEP their network, it;s a big loophole. I have mine, caught someone with a laptop in my garden the other day trying to warchalk, left this behind:

darkcompass.com
(W)
1mps

As it should be.

I also have a firewall with restricted ip access, so even if he did get through the 4 keys of encryption, he still would not get on as my stuff is all fixed ip, not dhcp.


WarDrive?

Satan @ 5/30/2003 3:11:46 PM #
Waldron always did have a good sense of humor.


Don't give up the day job, Bubba.

802.11b?

jbeedham @ 5/30/2003 10:35:43 PM #
What do you guys use for wi-fi connectivity on your Tungsten T?

-------------------------------------------------------
currently using Palm m125 and waiting for Garmin iQue.

LDS WiFi??

Minstrel @ 6/2/2003 10:31:18 AM #
Hey, as I was driving to work today with WiFinder running, I happened to notice a very strong signal as d a LD

RE: LDS WiFi??
Minstrel @ 6/2/2003 10:56:12 AM #
Sorry, silly pooter.

As I was saying, I noticed a strong signal as I passed a LDS temple... it didn't seem to be WEP'd...

I knew that essentially all of them had sattelite dishes so they could stay in contact with Salt Lake City, but it would be interesting if they all had WiFi hotspots too...

I'll see if I can investigate - maybe I'll swing by there at lunch time and see what's happening...

RE: LDS WiFi??
Minstrel @ 6/3/2003 10:21:30 AM #
Well, I could connect, and could even get onto the 'net...
but...
it felt like I was stuck on a 9600baud modem! It could have been just a bad WiFi connection, but it was pretty painful...

On that note, anyone know of an app that will test the speed of a connection?

Wifinder for Visor and Xircom?

joemcl @ 6/21/2003 9:51:36 PM #
MikeW - any possibility of tweaking Wifinder for the Visor/Xircom Springport wifi combo? I have a Visor with Palm OS version 3.5.2H2.0 (the handspring version).

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