OpenWIPS-ng – Open Source and Modular Wireless IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) OpenWIPS-ng is an open source project WIDS/WIPS by Thomas d’Otreppe, the author of Aircrack-ng. The idea started from a project where Thomas came up with a way to monitor all the 2.4 channels using multiple cards and he continued expanding on idea for detection [...]

Filed under: Gadgets, WLAN Security

iBooks Author EULA is Not a Big Deal iBooks Author is a *FREE* tool for creating and publishing multi-touch books for the iPad. Per Apple, “now anyone can create stunning iBooks textbooks, cookbooks, history books, picture books, and more for iPad. All you need is an idea and a Mac. Start with one of the [...]

Filed under: Gadgets, How To Guides

USB to Serial Adapter for Mac OS X Lion with Driver Find a USB to serial adapter that uses the Prolific part number PL2303 chip. I have the Tripp Lite USB to Serial DB9M Adapter (U209-000-R) that sells for $17 on Amazon. “The PL-2303 USB-to-Serial Bridge Controller is a low cost and high performance single [...]

Filed under: How To Guides

WiFi Repeater, WiFi Booster or WiFi Extender? Lots of confusion on the best way to improve WiFi signals for business and residential users. The best answer depends on your goal. Do you need a few more signal bars, better throughput, or serve more clients. The best solution to address your needs will depend on below. [...]

Filed under: How To Guides, WLAN Deployment

What The Karate Kid Can Teach You About Becoming a WLAN Pro The Karate Kid movie came out in 1984 and starred Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita. IMDB summarizes the movie as “handyman/martial arts master agrees to teach a bullied boy karate and shows him that there is more to the martial art than fighting.” [...]

Filed under: Careers

How to Tell a WLAN Pro from a WLAN Joe WiFi / wireless LAN networking has become complex enough that for a good size network (200+ access points, 5+ locations, 500+ clients) a full time WLAN Pro on staff or through a consulting firm is recommended. Telling the difference between a WLAN Pro from a [...]

Filed under: Careers, WLAN Design

History of Wireless LAN Vendors – Ubiquiti Networks On October 14, 2011, Ubiquiti went public and as of January 13, 2012, UBNT’s market cap is over $2 BILLION and looks like it is trending up. Per a Forbes.com article “in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, 2011, Ubiquiti netted $64 million on $243 million in [...]

Filed under: WLAN/WiFi News

Why Did Apple Ban iPhone / iPad WiFi Scanning Apps? Official Answer: Because there are “no published APIs that provide the ability to manipulate the wireless connection or the show level of information regarding the wireless connection”. English Translation: Apple has not documented a way for developers to collect RSSI, Noise, Channel, and other information [...]

Filed under: WLAN Tools

USNAP – Utility Smart Network Access Port Alliance The USNAP Alliance is similar to the Wi-Fi Alliance for “Smart Grid” solutions. “The mission of the Utility Smart Network Access Port (USNAP) Alliance is to create a protocol independent serial interface standard that enables any HAN (Home Area Network) standard, present and future, to use any [...]

Filed under: Gadgets, WLAN Tools

How Android and iOS Can Protect Users from WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi Protected Setup specification describes how a wireless device can be automatically configured with wireless network security settings. The goal was to make it easier for non techies to configure devices to securely connect to wireless routers. On Dec 27, 2011 [...]

Filed under: WLAN Security, WLAN Tools