WHAT’S HOT

    WiFiFoFum gives you the ability to
quickly locate and identify which wireless access points are available
for use. With its combination of graphical and grid-style interfaces,
you quickly can determine what access points are open (or encrypted),
and the signal strength of each access point. If you also have GPS, you
can create a log of available access points in a given area.

SETUP

    WiFiFoFum does not have an installer
program as of this build, so the installation is manual.
The installation is
pretty straightforward, however:

(1) Unpack the WiFiFoFum-0.3.3.zip file on your PC.

(2) Create a folder on your Pocket PC (I put mine
under Program FilesWiFiFoFum), and copy the files from your
PC.

(3) Turn on your wireless antenna, and (4) Run
WiFiFoFum.exe

(List mode shown, MAC address column shortened to
protect the innocent)

PROGRAM FEATURES

    WiFiFoFum starts up
(in list mode) by scanning and displaying a listing of all the access
points within range.

List Mode

The default
mode is List mode, which lists a series of fields, including: WEP
(On/Off), the MAC address of the device transmitting, its SSID (if
available), what type of device it is (Access Point), RSSI (Received
Signal Strength Indicator, the higher the number, the better), Channel,
FirstSeen, LastSeen, Lat (Latitude) and Lon (Longitude).

   
It is usually necessary to use the slider bars to
see all of the fields as the native resolution of
the program tends to make seeing all the fields
difficult. The developers state on the WiFiFoFum
website that a version to support VGA Pocket PCs is
on the way. I also tried to rotate the screen to
landscape mode, but this does not work with
WiFiFoFum.

   
This mode is very useful, allowing you to choose and
connect to access point directly from the List mode
screen, based on signal strength or WEP
availability. The best workaround for the screen
limitations is to choose and reorder what fields you
wish to see on this screen (see Configuration, later
in this article).

List
mode – Connect to an access point by clicking and holding with the stylus.

Radar Mode

   
The second mode is the one I primarily use, Radar.
Radar has the ability to show nearby access points
and their WEP status. A WEP status of off shows up
as an empty triangle, while a WEP status of ON shows
up as a solid triangle. While you cannot connect
directly from this screen, it does give a handy tool
for navigating toward an access point based on
signal strength.

   
When I first started using WiFiFoFum, I was curious
as to exactly how this Radar mode was implemented,
as it didn’t seem to matter which way my iPAQ was
pointed, I always seemed to get the same "picture"
of how the APs were laid out. So I read the FAQ for
WiFiFoFum, and it stated that the radar display
shows the strongest access points toward the center
of the screen, and that all the APs are laid out in 20 degree
increments starting at 90 degrees.

Radar
mode – Quickly determine range and availablity of an access point.

GPS Mode

    There is a third mode,
GPS, but as I don’t as yet have a Bluetooth GPS, I haven’t gotten to
play with it. However, I do know that if you intend to use it, and you
are having problems getting GPS to work correctly, you need to install

Compact FrameWork SP2 from the Microsoft web site.

    Configuration
is accomplished via the third icon (looks like a photo of planet Earth).
Clicking this icon brings up a screen with three tabs. The first tab
allows you to adjust the field order in the list view, choose a location
for a log path, choose an AP found WAV file (sounds when you locate
a new AP), and the scan time.

The
second tab allows you to configure the GPS’ Port and Baud settings.

   
The
third and final tab allows you to configure settings for the "Radar"
mode. This screen allows you to choose a different background (instead
of the green radar screen). The "Extended Info" checkbox has
to do with the GPS configuration, and the "Dynamically calculate
RSSI range" allows you to display RSSI values along with the AP
names in "Radar’ mode.

HELP SUPPORT

    Support for this program
is provided via FAQs and a discussion forum on the
WiFiFoFum

website. There is no help section provided in
the program.

OPTIONS

    There are several
optional

utilities you can use in conjunction with
WiFiFoFum. The last two applications are for iPAQ
Pocket PCs only.

• WiFiFoFum Pro
  - allows you to specify more granular wireless
  settings such as getting rid of the "connect to"
  popups on your Pocket PC.
• WZCDisabler -
  allows you to disable the Pocket PC 2003
  Wireless Zero Configuration system. This allows
  you to control access from another application.
• iPAQ
  WirelessAutoOn – this application installs in
  Windowsstartup and turns wireless on
  automatically when the iPAQ turns on.
• iPAQ
  WirelessAutoOff – does just the opposite of the
  AutoOn application.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

   

WiFiFoFum currently requires the PPC2003 OS (or
greater). It supports a variety of Pocket PCs from
different manufacturers, including Asus, Compaq,
Dell, HP, Toshiba and others. The program requires
625KB of Storage memory and less than 5MB of Program
Memory when running.

BUGS AND WISHES

   


I have been using this software for about a month
now, and have had no problems with it. As for a wish
list, usability suffers a bit in QVGA mode (320×200)
because the list mode for access points shows too
many fields for the screen to display without
scrolling. The developers at

Aspecto-Software are currently working on a
version of

WiFiFoFum that will support VGA on Pocket PC
2003 devices.

PURCHASING

   

This is the best part of all: this
application is free for private, non-business use, and is licensed
under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial License.
There is also a PayPal contribution link on the download page, to continue
to help the developer with costs.

PROS

• Free!
• Much more responsive than
  the stock iPAQ wireless utility
• Quick, visual reference depicting
  open/encrypted access points
• Reasonable memory usage
• GPS Support (not reviewed
  in this article)

CONS

• No automatic installation
  program
• Current version does not support
  PPC 2003 VGA mode
• Radar locator screen not directionally
  accurate

OVERALL IMPRESSION

    WiFiFoFum is one of the few "must-haves"
for anyone who regularly uses their WiFi connection on their handheld.
I have even used it to troubleshoot a problem at my home with conflicting
access points on the same WiFi channel. Without a price tag – you’d
be foolish not to give WiFiFoFum a try!