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WiFi-Where was a tool that facilitated Wardriving and detection of wireless LANs using the 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g WLAN standards. Versions existed for the operating systems iOS and Palm OS. Originally created in June 2004 for the Palm OS by Jonathan Hays of Hazelware Software, the IP for WiFi-Where was licensed to 3Jacks Software in 2009. An iPhone version of the application was released in January 2010, but was pulled from the App Store by Apple in March 2010. The app was frequently listed as a common tool to facilitate Wardriving As of 2010, it is still available in the Jailbroken Cydia store.

App store removal

WiFi-Where was one of many applications that were suddenly purged by Apple in March 2010. Apple never commented publicly on the reasons why other than that they accessed 'private frameworks.' This removal of an entire category of software from the App Store pushed Wardriving software to other platforms such as Android and Windows.

Uses

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The program was commonly used for:

• Verifying network configurations
• Finding locations with poor coverage in a WLAN
• Detecting causes of wireless interference
• Detecting unauthorized (rogue) access points
• Wardriving

Features

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Some of the unique features that the program implemented were:

• Continuous scanning mode
• GPS logging (when a device supports it)
• Email scan results
• Email attachments (OS 3.0 only) in NetStumbler .ns1, CSV, or Google Earth KML formats
• Option to filter hotspots by signal strength and location accuracy
• Displays detailed information about each network, including name/SSID, signal strength, raw RSSI value, security and authentication modes (WEP/WPA/WPA2), location, MAC address
• Save passwords for secure networks
• Upload hotspots to popular wardriving website Wigle.net

References

1. Hall, Kevin (8 March 2010). "Apple widens App Store bans, Wi-Fi scanners on the chopping block". DVICE. NBCUniversal Media, LLC. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011.
2. Krastev, Ventsislav (20 June 2023). "Wardriving and How Easy It Can Be Done". Sensors Tech Forum. Sensors Tech Forum.
3. Dalrymple, Jim (4 March 2010). "Apple removes Wi-Fi finders from App Store". CNET. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
4. Newman, Jared (4 March 2010). "Apple Abolishes Wi-Fi Scanners From App Store". PCWorld. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
5. Manninen, JP (4 March 2010). "Wi-Fi detectors eighty-sixed from App Store". VentureBeat. Retrieved 5 November 2023.

• Wireless networking