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WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X Snow Leopard

WiFi Scanner is a free 802.11 wireless scanner and connection manager for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard or later. This will detect access points and clients in ad-hoc mode if the SSID is being broadcasted. It can be used for wireless site surveys, wireless discovery, and to connect to wifi networks. The tool reports signal strength in dBm and shows access point BSSID/MAC addresses.

WiFi Scanner v1.1 Installer Package Download

WiFi Scanner v1.1 installer package file

New Features In WiFi Scanner v1.1 for Snow Leopard

v1.1 of our very popular (and free) WiFi Scanner application for Snow Leopard has following new features.

  • Change Column Positions
  • Sort Results
  • Resolve Vendor OUI
  • Noise and Signal/Noise Info
  • Autoscan/Refresh
  • Latitude/Longitude of Discovered Access Points
  • Show Access Point in Google Maps
  • Show Access Point in Google Earth
  • Access Point Finder Using Audio Alert

See below for screenshots of the application and information regarding the various buttons and options.

Interface Tab

The tab entitled “Interface Info” contains information describing the static and dynamic state of the currently selected interface. Additionally, it allows the user to toggle interface power, disconnect from the current network, and change channels.

You will notice that you will not be able to change channels while connected to a network–this is by design. Attempting to do this would return a error. Furthermore, you will notice that when the interface is powered OFF, all the dynamic status information is cleared.

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

Scan Tab

The tab entitled “Scan” allows the user to scan for networks using the current interface. The scan results are shown in the table view and are can be organized by any column by clicking the column header. For each network, there is several pieces of information displayed in the table row that describe that particular network.

There is a button in the checkbox left corner of the Scan tab which sets/unsets the parameter to merge the scan result with the same SSID.

There is a Auto check box and drop down to select the auto refresh rate.

The Resolve Vendor OUI option to show the IEEE Organization Unit Identifier for the MAC address.

The Show Lat/Long will show the latitude longitude of the BSSID if available via WiFi databases.

And, there is a button in the bottom right corner of the Scan tab which allows the user to join the currently selected network in the table. A sheet will be presented upon clicking the Join button that will allow the user to provide the appropriate credentials for the given network.

Interface Popup Button

The app supports a multiple interface scenario, whereby the machine could have several IEEE 802.11 wireless interfaces. The popup button on the top left corner of the app allows the user to select which interface should be set as the current interface. By default, the popup button will select the primary WLAN interface for the system.

Refresh Button

In the top right corner of the app, there is a push button entitled “Refresh”. This button provides different functionality depending on which tab is currently selected. If the Interface Info or Configuration tabs are selected, the button will refresh the information display in the currently selected tab. If the Scan tab is selected, the button will start a broadcast scan and block until the scan has completed.

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

Double click a row of results to access the monitor screen.

Monitor Screen

From the monitor screen you will be able to display the BSSID in Google Maps or in Google Earth.

If the Auto refresh option is checked the monitor screen will refresh the RSSI value every refresh interval.

If audio is enabled a beep sound increase in frequency as the RSSI values increases (aka approaches zero). This is typically called the “Geiger Counter” feature in most WiFi scanning applications.

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

BSSID Search Tab

This tab will allow you to search any MAC address and have it

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

BSSID In Google Maps

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

BSSID In Google Earth

Green domes show estimated coverage area based on free space loss.

WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X

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Filed under: WLAN Design, WLAN Tools, WLAN Troubleshooting

2 Responses to “WiFi Scanner v1.1 For Mac OS X”

  1. This is a great article. I would LOVE it if you guys would port this awesome tool over to the iPad asap.

    Devin

  2. Thanks!! That is the plan….if you find any bugs let us know…and send in any feature requests.

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