In today’s increasingly connected world, Wi-Fi network security has become of paramount importance. The increasing dependence on the Internet connection has made it essential to protect home and business networks from potential threats. In this article, I will share my experience using AirMon-NG on Kali Linux to capture the handshake, a process in which two computers attempt to establish a connection via the TCP/IP protocol. During the TCP handshake, the two devices exchange a series of messages to negotiate the connection parameters, such as the initial sequence number and other information needed to ensure reliable communication between them.

Next, I used Hashcat to decrypt the encrypted password in the handshake file and then reveal it in clear text.

Tools Used:

• AirMon-NG on Kali Linux: AirMon-NG is a Wi-Fi monitoring utility included with Kali Linux, a Linux distribution that specializes in cybersecurity. This tool allowed me to discover nearby wireless networks, monitor them, and capture packets, including authentication handshakes.
• Alfa Network Card: Alfa Network cards are widely recognized in the Linux community for their stability and ability to run in “Monitor Mode”. This feature makes them essential tools for those working in the cybersecurity field.
• Hashcat on Windows: After capturing authentication handshakes from the target networks, I transferred the capture files to a Windows system equipped with a powerful GPU. Here, I used Hashcat, a high-performance password cracking tool. The TP-Link router password, consisting of 8 numeric characters, was cracked in just 15 minutes, highlighting the importance of using strong passwords to secure Wi-Fi networks.

Ethical Approach:
It is important to note that all activities were conducted in an ethical and responsible manner. I tested only my own Wi-Fi network, a TP-Link router that had a default password of 8 numeric characters. This test highlighted the dangers of default passwords, highlighting the importance of setting strong and complex passwords.

Results:
Using AirMon-NG, along with Hashcat, demonstrated the vulnerability of Wi-Fi networks with weak or default passwords. In my case, Hashcat on Windows was able to crack the password from the handshake very quickly, taking only 15 minutes. This result highlights the need to protect networks with strong passwords, composed of random characters and alphanumerics.

Conclusions:
It is essential to understand the importance of testing the security of your Wi-Fi network and protecting it properly. Using modern authentication mechanisms, such as WPA2-Personal or Enterprise, is a crucial step to protect your home or business Internet connection. Choosing a strong password is equally significant. In the case of TP-Link devices, it is essential to change the default password, consisting of only 8 numeric characters, to a more secure and complex one. The home Wi-Fi network is involved in many aspects of our lives, including online payments and banking operations, which involve sensitive data. Protecting it properly is essential to avoid intrusions and possible interception attacks, such as “man-in-the-middle”, which could put the security of our data at risk. The security of the Wi-Fi network is a responsibility that we cannot underestimate, and its proper maintenance is essential to ensure the protection of personal and business information.

All articles on this site are written with OpenAI ChatGPT AI.
This is an advanced language model that helped generate the site's content, ensuring quality and consistency in the language.