
206
|
Chapter 8, Desktop Programs
#66 Scan for Wireless Networks
HACK
Although every wireless card allows you to connect to a network, not all
cards support monitor mode. If you are unsure whether your card supports
this mode, some sensible Google searching is likely to indicate if your hard-
ware supports it. When you have determined monitor mode is available, you
need to find which driver the card uses. If you are already using the card in
Linux, you can probably see which driver is loaded by using this command:
foo@bar:~# lsmod
Take a look at the list of drivers supported by Kismet at http://www.
kismetwireless.net/documentation.shtml and see if your driver is included in
the list. The cards listed in the Kismet documentation are known to work,
but drivers, patches, and third-party support might be available for your
card elsewhere. Many of the members of the Kismet mailing lists and IRC
channels have experience in a range of different cards, and they can help you
determine if your card is supported. If your card isn’t fully supported by Kis-
met, you need to peruse the mailing lists (available at http://www.
kismetwireless.net/forum.php) and IRC channel (#kismet on irc.freenode.net)
to see what level of support is available for your hardware.
Patching the Driver to Enable Monitor Mode
Though some wireless cards do support the use of monitor mode, the
default Linux drivers aren’t coded to support ...