Windows Vista and Netstumbler

Netstumbler isn’t officially supported on Windows Vista but several alternatives exist that provide similar or better information about wireless networks.

The quickest and simplest way to discover access points is by using the “netsh” command available by default in Windows Vista. The command returns text results for discovered wireless networks. Free tools that take the netsh results and display them in a graphical format are also available.

Netsh Windows Vista Shortcut

The easiest way to use the command is to create a desktop shortcut and run it as needed.

1. Right click on Windows Vista Desktop and select New -> Shortcut
   
2. Type following in field and click Next

   cmd.exe /k netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid
   The “cmd.exe /k” portion of command will keep results window open until closed.

   

3. Save shortcut by clicking Finish

   

4. Run command by double clicking desktop shortcut

   

Netsh cmd vs Windows Vista Graphical Networking View

The netsh shows SSID, signal strength, channel, supported data rates, and access point MAC address (BSSID). Compare this to Windows Vista graphical information which only shows SSID and signal bars.

Netsh

Windows Vista

netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid help

The help information for the command is below.

C:\Users\admin>netsh wlan show networks ?

Usage: show networks [[interface=]] [[mode=]ssid/bssid]

Parameters:

Tag Value
interface - Name of the interface which has this profile configured.
mode - Get detailed bssid information.

Remarks:

Shows the networks available to the system.
Parameter interface and bssid are both optional.

If interface name is given, only the networks on the given interface will be listed.
Otherwise, all networks visible to the system will be listed.

If mode=bssid is given then the visible bssids for each ssid
will also be listed. Otherwise only ssids will be listed.

Examples:

show networks interface=”Wireless Network Connection”
show networks mode=Bssid
show networks

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Filed under: How To Guides, WLAN Tools