WildPackets - Atheros Wireless LAN Adapter 4.2.2 Driver Readme

This document provides information specific to the WildPackets driver used for Atheros AR5002, AR5004, AR5005 and AR5006 chipset-based adapters.

For more information on supported wireless hardware/driver combinations, and to download wireless drivers, please visit the WildPackets Drivers Page.

In order to capture on all available channels for network analysis, both bands, 802.11a and 802.11b/g, must be enabled. Some Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) wireless configuration utilities offer the option to disable either the 802.11a or the 802.11b/g band. If you choose to disable either band, OmniPeek will not capture packets on any of the channels for the band you disabled.

Ensure that no OEM wireless configuration utility is installed. This type of utility is sometimes installed when you install the OEM driver provided with the adapter. For Windows XP users, we recommend using the operating system's built-in wireless configuration dialogs (e.g. Zero Config).

OEM wireless configuration utilities that are sometimes required for network services are not supported because these utilities usually require OEM-specific support in the driver. The WildPackets driver is based on a generic Atheros driver and does not have any OEM-specific support. There are two workarounds. The first is to reinstall the OEM driver whenever network services are needed. The second is to use two wireless adapters, one adapter for network services and one adapter for wireless packet capture. If you choose to use two wireless adapters, the adapter used for network services cannot be based on the Atheros chipset.

By default, when building its list of keys used for WPA/PSK security, the driver ignores all EAPOL-Key packets received with an error. There is an option provided in the card's Device Manager advanced properties to ignore these packets. While turning this setting OFF will increase the chances of getting the keys to decrypt WPA encrypted packets, it also makes it possible to get invalid keys which will not decrypt data properly.

Installation

• Windows Vista
• Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

Uninstallation

International Support

The "Peek Country" code is only used by Peek and does not have any effect on the country code used for network services.

To change the adapter's "Peek Country" code, follow these steps:

1. Stop all captures and quit Peek.
2. Open the Network Connections Control Panel.
3. Locate your wireless network adapter, right-click on it, and select Properties.
4. Click on Configure, then the Advanced tab.
5. Change the value of the "Peek Country" to the desired country.
6. Click on OK and close all the windows you just opened.
7. Restart Peek, you should now have access to a different set of channels.

Known Issues

• Network services may not be restored after quitting Peek. This problem is very likely to occur when WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is disabled or when using WPA. The first workaround is to disable the wireless adapter, then re-enable it. The second workaround is to eject the wireless adapter, then reinsert it. The final workaround is to reboot the computer.
• Correct channel selection may not occur for some adapters when selecting a channel by BSSID or ESSID.
• 802.11g channel 6 turbo mode is not supported.
• Atheros Super G™ and Super AG™ modes are not supported.

Card Configuration Options

The WildPackets driver provides additional configuration options which are accessed via the Advanced tab when viewing the properties of the card.

The additional options are:

• Peek Country: Specifies the country code of the card when the card is being used by Peek. This option allows the country code of the card to be overridden, providing access to a different set of channels than are normally available. The default is '[From the card]'.
• Peek Ignore Error EAPOL-Key: Specifies whether EAPOL key packets that are in error, for example FCS error, are ignored when calculating Group Temporal Keys (GTK) and Pair wise Transient Keys (PTK). The default is to ignore these packets.
• Peek Max GTK: Specifies the maximum number of Group Temporal Keys that the driver can store for decryption use. This option is for WildPackets use. The default is 4.
• Peek Max PTK: Specifies the maximum number of Pair wise Transient Keys that the driver can store for decryption use. This option is for WildPackets use. The default is 256.

Installation

Windows Vista

1. Open the Network and Sharing Center Control Panel.
2. Click on "Manage Network Connections."
3. Select the appropriate connection, right-click on it, and select Properties.
4. Click on Configure, the Driver tab, and then on Update driver.
5. Click on "Browse my computer for driver software."
6. Click on "Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer."
7. Click the Have Disk button.
8. If you received this driver independently from the program, for instance downloaded it from the WildPackets website, then browse to the folder where you unzipped the driver and select the net5211.inf file. Otherwise, browse to the driver subdirectory in the directory where you installed the program and select the net5211.inf file (for example C:\Program Files\WildPackets\OmniPeek\Driver\Atheros_4.2).
9. Click on Open and then OK.
10. Choose the appropriate manufacturer and network adapter (or "Atheros" if you don't see yours listed) and click on Next.
11. Click on "Install this driver software anyway" if you receive a message saying "Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software."
12. Click on Close to complete the installation and close the properties window.
13. Select Yes to reboot if asked. If not asked, we recommend that you reboot the computer anyway.

Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

1. Open the Network Connections Control Panel.
2. Select the appropriate connection, right-click on it, and select properties.
3. Click on Configure, the Driver tab, and then on Update driver.
4. Click 'No, not this time', then Next, if your version of Windows prompts you to connect to Windows Update to search for software.
5. Click on 'Install from a list or specific location (Advanced)', and then on Next.
6. Click on 'Don't search. I will choose the driver to install.' and then on Next.
7. Click the Have Disk button.
8. If you received this driver independently from the program, for instance downloaded from the WildPackets website, then browse to the folder where you unzipped the driver and select the net5211.inf file. Otherwise, browse to the driver subdirectory in the directory where you installed the program and select the net5211.inf file (for example C:\Program Files\WildPackets\OmniPeek\Driver\Atheros_4.2).
9. Click on Open and then OK.
10. Choose the appropriate manufacturer and network adapter (or "Atheros" if you don't see yours listed) and click on Next.
11. Click on Yes to continue the installation if you receive a message saying 'Installing this driver is not recommended because Windows cannot verify that it is compatible with your hardware.'.
12. Click on 'Continue Anyway' to continue the installation if you receive a message saying 'The software you are installing for this hardware: '...' has not passed Windows Logo testing to verify its compatibility with Windows XP.'.
13. If asked for file "ar5211.sys", browse again to the directory in step 7 or choose it from the popup list.
14. Click on Finish to complete the installation and close the properties window.
15. Select Yes to reboot if asked. If not asked, we recommend that you reboot the computer anyway.