WL110 Software For Detecting SSIDs?

[marcmarcmarc]

The standard Sony wireless software doesn't have a search facility to detect local hotspots. Anyone know of an add-on piece of software I can use? The dudes at Sony implied such a thing exists but they can't recommend it....I've searched for 1hr on the internet fruitlessly.....so if anyone can help I'd much appreciate. Ta.

[imadrin]

there are no wifi "sniffers" yet because sony refuses to release the APIs. The Tungsten C can use a program called "netchaser" and i believe that the UX50 has a built in wifi sniffer.

[mjhamilton]

just stick 'ANY' in as your SSID and you wont need to worry about knowing the SSID for the device you are connecting to..

The sniffer limitation is actually POS 5.0 not Sony.. an update was added to 5.2.1 which allows this function to be available.........

For once it ain't the fault of Mr Sony....

[networker]

Originally posted by mjhamilton
just stick 'ANY' in as your SSID and you wont need to worry about knowing the SSID for the device you are connecting to..

The sniffer limitation is actually POS 5.0 not Sony.. an update was added to 5.2.1 which allows this function to be available.........

For once it ain't the fault of Mr Sony.... It is not an OS limitation. It is a driver limitation that does not expose such functions or sony has documented any API to access. Since, there is no competition to Sony they do not feel any pressure to come up with more capable driver/utility set.

[mjhamilton]

have to correct you old boy.. it is a limitation of POS 5.0 NOT Son'y fault..... Sony has it's own api for the wifi card but the api for the networking is still standard Palm......

Don't mean to correct you networker but I am right on this one.......

POS 5.2.1 has different api's that will allow the taking required to run a sniffer style app on a Palm based device...

[networker]

Originally posted by mjhamilton
have to correct you old boy.. it is a limitation of POS 5.0 NOT Son'y fault..... Sony has it's own api for the wifi card but the api for the networking is still standard Palm......

Don't mean to correct you networker but I am right on this one.......

POS 5.2.1 has different api's that will allow the taking required to run a sniffer style app on a Palm based device... No. First it is PalmOS not POS. You can say I a lot of people are using it but a lot of them are novice users and it is incorrect. There is no point reducing it by 3 letters.

Secondly, Windows versions earlier than XP does not have a buildin API but each driver provides its own. I am am embedded software engineer and it is still possible to provide those functions by providing the necessary API from your driver. You can always directly go to the physical hardware to obtain such function. Sony has been lazy on this.

[mjhamilton]

point taken.. but no POS5 device below v 5.2.1 will support a wifi sniffer so it is a mute point... the actual OS does not have the correct elements in place to support the tasking requirements of this type of tool.........

I will try to dig up the link from the Palm Developers site which stated thus so...

PS.. POS is a short acronym used commonly on CLIESource... short for Palm Operating System..... may not be the correct term in the real world but it works here

[networker]

Originally posted by mjhamilton
point taken.. but no POS5 device below v 5.2.1 will support a wifi sniffer so it is a mute point... the actual OS does not have the correct elements in place to support the tasking requirements of this type of tool.........

I will try to dig up the link from the Palm Developers site which stated thus so...

PS.. POS is a short acronym used commonly on CLIESource... short for Palm Operating System..... may not be the correct term in the real world but it works here They are right that PalmOS 5.0 does not provide a native API but they are not telling the whole truth. It is very much possible to do so with Sony specify API from the driver.

Handera was providing a more full featured 802.11b Wireless support on a device that was runinng PalmOS 3.5.x and Sony WL-100 and Symbol Networker is basically the same hardware. No they did not have a AP sniffer but they could program all 4 keys, select the preamble type and signal strength.

You live by how much the driver exposes and how much the utilities take advantage of them. Oh yes, the excuses of the developers why they could not provide bla bal when they can do in reality. They can fool the general public but not me after having so many years of embedded programming on network/telecom devices.

[marcmarcmarc]

- Thanks for your replies.
- I've tried the excellent sounding 'ANY' trick but for some reason this doesn't seem to work for me. Will try again.
- Short answer to this thread seems to be that it doesn't look like any sniffer software exists currently....despite Sony support indicating the existence of said software.

[mjhamilton]

point well made... you could do anyhing you want to if you had the time, resource and inclanation... however in the real world this is not the case.....

The Palm OS 5.0 as standard will not support the task set required to run a sniffer utility.. this as I have said before has now been added to v 5.3.2....

What you are stating is that it can be done and on a level you are correct... the updates in 5.3.2 allow this to happen... for it to work on a v5 device you would need to add these updates, as Sony do not allow OS upgrade this is an issue.........

If you wanted to do this you would just be reinventing the wheel and writing these updates yourself...... so yes it can be done... however if you want to use this util reliably then upgrade to a 5.3.2 device an off you go..,

bored now... gotta go and change the record....

[squeff]

I, too, have never been able to get ANY to work.

I've been told by a Sony engineer that the reason you "can't" do this with pre-OS 5.2 is that the vendor that Sony bought the WL100 and WL110 from (they are NOT Sony made) didn't include the right stuff in the driver to support "sniffing." Since it's not from Sony, they are not contractually allowed to make changes. Even if they could, the engineer tells me, Sony has basically no staff for doing so (which is why they buy instead of build). The staff Sony has is already quite busy. And Sony has no business case for hiring more people, especially since Palm's official stance on the whole issue is that PalmOS 5.2 is needed.

Yes, I'm sure someone will say that Sony should allow NX users to upgrade to PalmOS 5.2. But, again, the issue that they have few resources to put a PalmOS 5.2 upgrade out on the street. We all hate it, yes, but that's the way Sony does business.

I'd really suggest that if people don't like this, they contact Sony corporate. Posting here, contacting tech support, and the like will do nothing. If you can actually reach a decision maker at Sony Japan, Sony USA, or whatever country you're in, maybe you'll get some place. But until then, you're talking to people who (as much or as little as they'd like) can't help you.

[rob_squared]

Originally posted by mjhamilton
mute point

"moot"

Unless you're telling him to shut up.

[aithir]

I am not enough technically skilled to know if that OS issue is absolute in OS 5.0 or there is a work around as almost always is.
But is they have fix it in OS 5.2 they could at least give the OS libraries that solve this problem as an update, and not the whole OS 5.2.

[leung]

I use "Any" all the time. maybe it is case sensitive? I use wifi in many place. my sisters use a wireless router with no security and I could just connect to it. when I am on campus, I can connect to it with "Any."

basically, my default SSID is "Any"

[outdoor]

Capital "A". then small "n" and "y" ??

i tried "!!" , "any" and "ANY", but didnt' work either. :(

[squeff]

I've tried "Any" (which is what it'll fill in for you if you leave it blank) and have never been able to get it to work.

[ab osco]

You guys do know there can't be a WEP, right?

[xyeta]

didn't I see the following options somewhere in the wireless forum:
ANY
Any
any
!!any

[squeff]

Originally posted by ab osco
You guys do know there can't be a WEP, right?

Good point.  I'm aware of this.  Even when I know there is no WEP or any other form of protection, it still never connects.

[garyo]

[...there can't be a WEP...]

Is this a known limitation? :-( I've tried and tried to use WEP on my home WiFi network and been unable to get it to work in any configuration. Is this documented somewhere? The Clie/WL110 manual describes how to enter your WEP keys and all, so I was under the impression that it *should* work. Can anyone enlighten me?

thx,

-- Gary

[squeff]

Garyo,

The issue with WEP has to do with the use of "Any" as a SSID -- you can't connect to a WEP protected AP unless you have the SSID and the WEP key.

You CAN use WEP with the WL110. This is how I have it setup at home and have no problems. The trick is making sure that you have really entered the same WEP code on both ends. Depending on where I'm entering the WEP code, it might be in decimal, hexidecimal, etc. Also make sure that you're using the same key length.

[garyo]

Squeff wrote:
The issue with WEP has to do with the use of "Any" as a SSID -- you can't connect to a WEP protected AP unless you have the SSID and the WEP key.

Ah, I see. Well, my problem is elsewhere then. Yeah, I've been through all the permutations of key length, hex/decimal, and so on, with no luck at all. Oh well. I fell back on limiting access to particular Ethernet ID, which is not ideal but better than nothing at all.

thx,

-- Gary

[mjhamilton]

.. just had a thought with the 'Any' entry... my Netgear router can be set to NOT broadcase it's SSID.... if this is true of other devices then sniffers will not detect them and putting 'Any' as any entry will not work for the same reason....

... unless you know the explicit name of the routers SSID you wont be able to detect it.......

Just a thought..

[Evil Kreation]

I used "Any" and just got it to work first try