WiFi sniffing is the act of discovering the location or activity on a WiFi network, which can be done for legitimate or malicious purposes. WiFi is a wireless standard based on IEEE 802.11. Sniffing packets refers to monitoring activity on a network and can be used by network administrators or thieves. To protect against WiFi sniffing, change default passwords, update firmware, use encryption, and SSL encryption for navigation.
WiFi® is the standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN), while sniffing can be synonymous with snooping. When the terms are combined, WiFi® sniffing often refers to discovering the location of a WiFi® network or the activity on a WiFi® network; this can be for innocent or even laudatory purposes. It can also be done in an attempt to gain access to the Internet illegally, or at least unethically, and possibly with the intent to cause harm.
Also spelled Wi-Fi®, the wireless standard is based on a document known as IEEE 802.11, written and maintained by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It is said that the name WiFi® derives either from the abbreviations of the words Wireless and Fidelity or from the words Wire, referring to the traditional physical connection in LANs, and from an alteration and shortening of Physical, referring to the Physical Layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) Reference model.
How it’s done
WiFi® sniffing to locate viable networks can legitimately be used for tasks such as searching for a wireless hotspot in an unfamiliar urban area. This can be done with an electronic device or with software; the same device can be used to detect and steal WiFi® from a homeowner who has activated it in their home. When used maliciously from a moving vehicle, this practice is sometimes referred to as wardriving. Apple® removed all WiFi® sniffing software from its App Store in March 2010, but the iPhone® has a built-in WiFi® scanner to locate wireless hotspots.
Sniffing packets
The terms WiFi® sniffing and packet sniffing are sometimes used interchangeably, but packet sniffing does not refer to locating WiFi® networks, only monitoring activity on them. The type of WiFi® sniffing which may also be called packet sniffing is used by network administrators to find faults in a network so they can be connected. This type of sniffing identifies data packets that are being transmitted or received by the network. The name of the tool for this job is a network analyzer when used by an authorized person, but it is more likely to be called a packet sniffer when used by a thief to capture and decrypt other people’s data. Illegal access to these packets is very similar to wiretapping.
Prevent WiFi® sniffing
To protect a WLAN from WiFi® sniffing, steps including changing the default administration password for the access point, such as a router, and making sure the firmware is up to date are helpful. You should also change the router’s SSID (Service Set Identifier) name, which is the public name and usually comes with a brand name as the default. Using network encryption and choosing Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), rather than Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), for encryption are also good steps, as is using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption for navigation.
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