Vista Compatible Wi-Fi Tools

Netstumbler has always been a very useful tool for identifying wireless network problems, but alas the word on the street is forget running it on Windows Vista as it isn’t compatible. Yes, another application that won’t work with Windows Vista, but what do you expect? It was developed well before Windows Vista was even a glint in Wee Billy Gates’ eye!

One option is the following command prompt:

netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

Which will output something like this:

Interface Name : Wireless Network Connection
There are 3 networks currently visible.

SSID 1 : wireless1
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : WPA2-Personal
    Encryption              : CCMP
    BSSID 1                 : 00:11:09:bf:af:a2
         Signal             : 99%
         Radio Type         : 802.11g
         Channel            : 6
         Basic Rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 6 11 12 24
         Other Rates (Mbps) : 9 18 36 48 54

SSID 2 : wireless2
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : Open
    Encryption              : WEP
    BSSID 1                 : 00:14:6c:b1:ac:e8
         Signal             : 31%
         Radio Type         : 802.11g
         Channel            : 1
         Basic Rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other Rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 22 24 36 48 54

SSID 3 : wireless3
    Network type            : Infrastructure
    Authentication          : WPA-Personal
    Encryption              : TKIP
    BSSID 1                 : 00:14:7c:b1:e5:da
         Signal             : 18%
         Radio Type         : 802.11g
         Channel            : 1
         Basic Rates (Mbps) : 1 2 5.5 11
         Other Rates (Mbps) : 6 9 12 18 22 24 36 48 54

However, there is a far more elegant solution thanks to the guys over at MetaGeek and it is called, "Inssider". It uses the Windows Native Wi-Fi API, which is a far more elegant solutions than some of the other NetStumbler replacement applications that are appearing.

Best of all, it works with most wireless cards straight out of the box, has a useful and pretty time lapse data graph that makes finding issues with Wi-Fi networks a good deal easier and is open source. However, it is a shame that they don’t have GPS integration to provide useful Wardriving data, which was one of the killer features of NetStumbler.

Figure 1: Inssider capturing wireless network traffic

It does require the installation of the .net 2.0 Framework, which isn’t a problem as most computers probably already have it installed or it is freely available to download from the Microsoft Download Center or through Windows Update for those that don’t already have it. Don’t forget to install .net 2.0 SP1 as well – you can find it here.

One of our key reasons for not moving to Windows Vista earlier was the failure of MetaGeek’s Wi-Spy device, or more particularly their software, to run on Microsoft’s shiny new baby. Thankfully, this has been resolved and the latest versions of Chanalyzer, both the v2 and v3 branches, now work quite happily with Windows Vista.

Figure 2: Chanalyzer screen capture

Note: Chanalyzer v3 doesn’t work with the original Wi-Spy device; you need to be using the newer Wi-Spy 2.4x.

MetaGeek has a new product coming along within the next few months that will add 5GHz (802.11a) spectrum scanning and analysis capabilities. Well worth hanging off on any purchase until that device is available. This is a killer Wi-Fi troubleshooting tool in the making!

As a general last thought, we’re slowly running out of reasons to gripe about Windows Vista! In fact, we’d go as far to say that XP is going to be a dim and distant memory for us very soon!

Technorati Tags: .net framework, 802.11a, Chanalyzer, Inssider, MetaGeek, Microsoft, Microsoft Download Center, Vista, Wardriving, Wi-Fi, Wi-Spy, Windows, Windows Update, wireless, XP