Network sniffing tools for WLANs: merits and limitations

This paper presents an overview of several popular sniffers that are available in the Internet, from simple and compact tools to more complex and multi-functional ones. We describe important wireless sniffing tools such as Wellenreiter, Kismet, Ethereal, AirTraf and AirSnort. We discuss their functions along with their strengths and weaknesses. We describe how they can be used for different purposes such as hacking, exploiting security holes, and their usage characterization of wireless networks. Through a detailed experimental study conducted at the National University of Singapore during a four months period in 2004, we observe several interesting properties.