WiFi sniffers detect available wireless networks before booting up a computer. They are available as stand-alone devices and add-on software for portable devices. Some companies have banned random scanning software in favor of directory-based applications. Reviews of WiFi sniffers are available online. WiFi sniffers have been used for controversial purposes, such as Google Maps Street View trucks collecting information and criminals using them to profile targets. They can also be used to identify areas with the strongest broadband signal.
While many people like to rely on their laptop to detect available wireless networks in a particular location, devices known as WiFi® sniffers were created specifically to capture this information. The basic premise is that before someone bothers to boot up their computer, they can verify that there is indeed a compatible wireless broadband network available in the area.
WiFi® sniffers are available both as stand-alone, hard-top items and as add-on software applications for a person’s portable wireless devices. Many of these add-on applications for smartphones and PDAs are free; as the penetration of portable wireless devices has increased, it has rendered hard-top WiFi® sniffers obsolete for all but the most skilled IT personnel.
Some companies have banned WiFi® sniffer software and applications that have the ability to randomly scan available networks. These plug-ins, also known as stumblers, have been removed in favor of whitelisted directory-based applications. Both free and paid directory applications and plug-ins are commonly available.
In today’s ultra-competitive and user-review driven Internet environment, many online discussions are now centered around which of these add-on WiFi® sniffers is the best at sniffing. WiFi® sniffer reviews are readily available on online technology websites and social media platforms; users are ready to share their opinion on the effectiveness of an add-on as soon as they have tried it.
WiFi® sniffers have also been in the news lately for entirely different reasons. In 2010, Google generated a great deal of controversy and privacy concerns after it was determined that its Google Maps Street View trucks were sniffing out WiFi® information from households and businesses on a particular street. Google claimed it was an accident and replaced the software. Criminals, meanwhile, have been caught using WiFi® sniffers to virtually profile a target household’s alarm system and individual electronic valuables. Like all technological advances, WiFi® sniffers are something of a sword of Damocles, practical on the one hand and intrusive on the other.
WiFi® sniffers also have other practical applications. They can be used to identify physical areas in a home or office where the broadband signal from a central wireless router is most robust. Such information can help determine where to place desktop computers, routers, and other Internet-ready devices within a particular space to maximize their reception capabilities.
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