How Do You Locate That Access Point?

parp asks: "As an IT Manager I'm concerned about unauthorized Access Points being installed, or users who setup wireless computer to computer networks. How do you find the exact location of these devices? I've tried walking around the office with a laptop watching the signal, but the signal monitors that are included with most network drivers are very limited. The signal could be upstairs, downstairs or right around the corner, but I can't find it. Results of web searches I've done just tell you how to find a signal (wardrive), not the source. I'd be interested in any software or hardware device that can locate the device within a few feet."

Comments

Re:Something to check out...

[QuantumRiff]

Airespace was recently purchased by Cisco. I just bought some of the equipment, and it is damn sweet.. One note about the location pinpointing though.. (see below for the poor mans fix..)

By default it tells you that AP X detects an access Point. It tries to connect as a client, and ping spots on your network. This tells you if its on your network or not.. If you feel mean, you can flood it and shut it down.. (DOS attack built in!) However, if you want the precision mapping, you have to pay a very, very large chunk of change.. I have seen a demo, and it is pretty sweet to watch it pinpoint the exact location of a rouge AP. Keep in mind that this uses triangulation. You need more than one of your Cisco AP's to be able to see this rouge to get it pinpointed.

(Poor/Evil BOFH Fix) I would connect through the access point, note my IP, see if I could Ping the network.. Then, check the IP/Mac address, and find what port on my switches it is coming from. Disable the port. (if you have a nicely labeled patch panel, you could walk to the switch, and see exactly where the port is..) Wait for someone to complain about no network activity...