What Is WiFi Sniffing?

WiFi is the standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), while sniffing can be a synonym for snooping. When the terms are combined, WiFi sniffing often refers to uncovering either the location of a wifi® network or the activity on a WiFi network; this can be either for innocent or even laudatory purposes. It can also be done in an attempt to gain internet access illegally, or at least, unethically, and possibly with the intent to cause damage.

Also spelled Wi-Fi, the wireless standard is based on a document known as IEEE 802.11, which was written and is maintained by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The name WiFi® is said to come either from abbreviations of the words Wireless and Fidelity or the words Wire, in reference to the traditional physical connection in LANs, and an alteration and shortening of Physical, referring to the Physical Layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI)Reference Model.