Frequently Asked Questions

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The following Frequently Asked Questions, answered by the authors of this book, are designed to both measure your understanding of the concepts presented in this chapter and to assist you with real-life implementation of these concepts. To have your questions about this chapter answered by the author, browse to www.syngress.com/solutions and click on the “Ask the Author” form. You will also gain access to thousands of other FAQs at ITFAQnet.com.

1.	Is a GPS satellite receiver required to use NetStumbler or MiniStumbler?
2.	My GPS doesn’t seem to work on the serial port of my PocketPC. The GPS receiver’s serial communications settings are correct. So why does MiniStumbler say “config error” instead of the GPS coordinates?
3.	My iPAQ expansion unit has two PCMCIA slots. Can I run a wireless card and a GPS PC card in adjoining slots?
4.	My AP is using WPA encryption, but it shows up as “WEP” in the Encryption column. Why is this?
5.	Should I use NetStumbler while connected to my network?
6.	I keep finding the SSID “SST-PR-1” for an ad-hoc network almost everywhere I run NetStumbler or MiniStumbler. It has shown up in the city and the countryside, in different cities and states, and even on highways in the middle of nowhere. Is this some government conspiracy? Are the “Men In Black” using WiFi? What is it?

Answers

1.	No. Either program functions very well without using a GPS receiver. Using the applications without a GPS receiver just means that you will not be able to log the locations of any APs you might find.
2.	Disable any other drivers before attempting to use the GPS. Many times the culprit is an external keyboard driver that uses the serial port.
3.	Unfortunately, this is going to be difficult at best and may not work at all. The problem is a physical size limitation rather than anything imposed by the MiniStumbler program. Due to the size of the antenna bulge on most wireless Ethernet cards and the antenna portion of most GSP cards, there is just not enough room to physically place both cards in the space provided. You could probably do this with a card that uses an external as opposed to an internal antenna, but you’d be losing the “all in one” package that most people desire. One user on the NetStumbler forums has used an ORiNOCO card, a Haicom 303E CompactFlash GPS, and a PCMCIA/CompactFlash converter. The Haicom 303E has a hinge between the CompactFlash section and the antenna section, allowing clearance between the GPS and ORiNOCO antennae. This is probably as close as you can get to a single package setup.
4.	NetStumbler detects encryption based on whether it sees the 0010 (Privacy) Flag in the response that it receives to the Beacon Request. NS doesn’t particularly know (or care) what the actual encryption method is, only that 0010 is set in the Flags. This is reported as “WEP” in NetStumbler since WEP was the only available encryption level when NS was first created.
5.	No. NetStumbler is designed to detect networks; it is not intended to be run while actually using a network connection. Because of the way that it functions, NetStumbler may repeatedly disconnect you (for instance, every time it reconfigures the wireless network card). Obviously, this will interrupt normal network operations and is something to be avoided.
6.	Conspiracy theorists can relax, or at least find a different subject to worry about. “SST-PR-1” is the SSID used by the Sears Home Service van fleet across North America. Sears’ technicians use a handheld computer that works in an ad-hoc peer-to-peer network with a computer in the service van. It allows the technicians to do any number of things from tracking parts inventory to getting directions to a customer’s home.

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