NetStumbler is a freely available wireless lan discovery tool.
It is useful for site surveys, detecting rogue access points, and finding and mapping WLAN installations.
In conjunction with a GPS, you can map out WLAN coverage in an area simply by driving around. See WarDriving. Netstumbler can output a summary of latitude/longitude coordinates which can then be displayed as points on a map. Freeware to do this is: HERE for use with Microsoft Mappoint.
Prior to WinXP, NetStumbler was not effective with wireless cards using the Prism chipset. However, current versions of NetStumbler will work with some cards (such as the Senao) having the Prism chipset if you use WinXP.
see http://netstumbler.com/ for more details and downloads..
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Evolution has been at work. In terms of performance, there is now a EKAHAU which provides improved location tracking with up to 3.5 feet accuracy. I guess having a wireless device means your location is not very private with one of these. So, if you have a user using your AP, you could quickly zoom in on their mobile laptop and stroll over and innocently ask "...."
Ekahau has a FREE DEMO version available for download.
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Related webpages at this site include:
One of the better webpages on this topic is at Personal Telco's WarDriving Webpage. Links to various clones of Netstumbler are also available there.
