Reader Andrew dropped a note that Michael Rossberg, developer of KisMAC, the wireless network sniffer based on Kismet, has declared the project discontinued. I can't get the project's website to load (most likely because it's been Slashdotted), but apparently the reason Rossberg gave was that a change in Germany's laws would make it dangerous for him to continue working on it. The law apparently makes it illegal for anyone to sniff out a password that "allows access to data", and since that's a big part of KisMAC's function, Rossberg is calling it quits.

But he is asking for interested parties to continue his work, in the EU or the US, so if the site ever returns, feel free to grab the source and check it out yourself.

Of course, from what Slashdot commenters are saying, this isn't much of a loss anyway-- the program hasn't seen any real updates in a long time, and apparently it didn't even work with the new MacBooks. In terms of network finders, there's lots more to choose from (including iStumbler, which I didn't mention in the other article), but in terms of cracking WEP and WPA keys (legally, of course), are there any other OS X specific options out there?

Update: Clarification: the program will run on MacBooks, but it doesn't do anything but find networks, which is just a fraction of the intended functionality.

If you're using an Intel Mac with any of Apple's AirPort base stations, you might have noticed some 'less than stellar' performance after updating to 10.4.8, as well as wonky connection problems that Apple tried issuing a support doc for. As an owner of both a MacBook and an Intel Core 2 Duo iMac, I can personally vouch that Apple's doc has a ways to go before it solves this most frustrating of wireless problems.

While troubleshooting this issue over the weekend, I came across a few new threads at Apple's discussion forums for AirPort and, more specific to my setup, the AirPort Express. In particular, this AirPort Express-related thread contains some theories and potential solutions from other users in a similar boat. Being that it is now Wednesday, I'm happy to say one of them seems to be working well for me so far, though your mileage may obviously vary. Here's a rundown of my personal setup and the remedy that's bringing some sanity back to my wireless world: typically, I roll with WPA2 Personal security, and since these sketchy connection issues began I've been playing with settings like Interference Robustness and adjusting my APE's (AirPort Express) channel, etc., but to no avail.

As it turns out, users in these forums are beginning to suspect wireless security (at least WPA, not sure about WEP, which seems to be making the ill-advised list these days anyway) as part of the problem, so I simply reset my station with no security. For the past three days, this setup has been working like a charm, though it's understandable if no security simply isn't an option for some users. To help keep our network to ourselves, I turned on 'Create a closed network' in the AirPort tab of the AirPort Admin Utility (that's Apple-speak for "hide SSID"), which simply meant I had to type in my network's name manually from the AirPort menubar item - but you should only have to do this once.

Again, YMMV, but there are a few potential solutions in Apple's discussion forums for these increasingly frustrating AirPort connectivity issues. Let's hope we don't have to keep jury-rigging our base stations for long, and Apple can issue a fix so the "it just works" reputation can actually apply to these things again.

Sketchy AirPort performance has been bugging me for weeks, probably over a month now, and I've been going through all forms of troubleshooting with my AirPort Express trying to squash the issue, but to no avail. My MacBook and iMac drop their Wi-Fi connection seemingly at random, sometimes right in the middle of Unreal online, and never regain it unless I manually re-select the network. I've been following the typical methods of changing channels on the APE, reducing range and using Interference Robustness - but it's all been for naught.

Now, Apple has released a support document that might provide a solution for those like me who are experiencing less-than-stellar AirPort reliability and connectivity with their Intel Macs. The document specifies that these issues are related to the use of WPA2 and upgrading to 10.4.8, and I can't offer any feedback just yet as to whether my problem has been solved, but this doc is at least a step in a troubleshooting direction other than 'pull out more hair.' Feel free to share your experiences and any solutions in the comments.

[via HardMac]