Wifi Cracking Basic Commands

Performing a penetration test on your own Wi-Fi network using Kali Linux is a methodical process that leverages ethical hacking practices to uncover security weaknesses, ensuring your network is resilient against unauthorized access. This typically begins by configuring your wireless adapter into monitor mode, a specialized state that allows it to capture all nearby wireless traffic, rather than connecting to a single network. Tools like airmon-ng from the aircrack-ng suite are essential here, as they let you override interfering processes (e.g., disabling NetworkManager) and activate monitoring on interfaces such as wlan0, which is often renamed to wlan0mon once monitor mode is enabled. Once the adapter is ready, reconnaissance begins with airodump-ng, a tool that scans the airwaves to identify nearby networks, logging critical details like the target’s BSSID (MAC address), operating channel, and ESSID (network name).