The Network Security. Org

Introduction to NetStumbler

For a Swiss Army knife of wireless network diagnostics, "NetStumbler" is saddled with a somewhat unfortunate name. Although it implies a sort of blind luck, NetStumbler is actually most useful for pinpointing details of a wireless network, helping you configure, secure, optimize and discover.

NetStumbler calls itself "beggarware," meaning that it is free (but not open source), although they request a $50 donation from commercial and government users. The latest version (0.4.0 as of this writing) is available for download from netstumbler.com and stumbler dot net.

The Right Hardware for the Job

Requiring Windows 2000, XP or newer, NetStumbler functions best with a supported wireless card. Determining precisely which cards are fully supported can take some sleuthing.

NetStumbler fully supports cards based on the Proxim 8410-WD and 8420-WD, which have most commonly been sold under the names Orinoco Classic Gold and Orinoco Gold. Other cards based around this chipset include the Dell TrueMobile 1150, Compaq WL110, and Avaya Wireless 802.11b PC Card. Also supported are cards based on the Intersil (now owned by Conexant) Prism and Prism2 wireless chipsets, such as the popular D-Link DWL-650. Unfortunately, there is no single comprehensive source of information on wireless card chipsets and retail models. Seattle Wireless maintains a wiki, and NetStumbler hosts user-submitted compatibility reports, although they do not indicate which chipset a card uses.

Wireless cards which are fully supported in NetStumbler are able to report accurate noise and signal strength levels. The latest 0.4 version of NetStumbler partially supports most wireless cards, but those without full support will not be reliable for noise and strength readings, and may cause instability in NetStumbler itself. Introduction to NetStumbler

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