Use of Smartphone to Test Wireless Network - Report Example

Mobile wireless security Name Course Institution Date Use of Smartphone to test wireless network Since the introduction of mobile networks, their testing and optimization moves have always been made to advance their usage. In many cases, good quality wireless network meant having a competitive advantage over the other service providers. With the introduction of them Smartphone, consumers did not enjoy the anticipated level of quality that was to be expected from a Smartphone. Network testing had to be improved to ensure that the rapidly growing number of customers enjoyed not only improved voice call quality, but also a significant reduction in dropped-call rate. In the Smartphone market, there are key features that have to be thoroughly scrutinized, managed to ensure customer satisfaction. This is a characteristic of any given business idea, set up that deals directly with consumers. The voice quality was expected to be of an advanced quality in contrast with other mobile gadgets to increase its competitive edge. Being that consumers used the Smartphone to access data too, the devices were expected to come with high speed data internet capability. Having 3G data capability, Wi-Fi connectivity came as part of the total package. A Smartphone ability to handle the above expectations from customers was seen as one of the sure ways to increase profit margins, apart from gaining an extensive market share. Network testing at this point was of utmost importance. Both the vendors and network operators were compelled to collaborate in developing a more valuable testing system. Accuver is one of the first global companies that were appointed by Telecommunication Technology Association (TTA) to assist in initiating Smartphone specific network testing. Accuver’s Bluetooth solutions in hand with their XCAL-MO were picked to run and provide raw performance benchmark data. The XCAL-MO as a hardware platform allowed access to twenty Smartphone users to connect and automatically make calls (Mohammad & Syed, 2006). The raw data was compiled and further studied to enable gauging of the network’s overall performance and calibration. Smartphone network testing is usually known to be done over wide geographical regions to try and have the kind of experience that real customers have hence develop deeper understanding of quality issues. This led to the use of a wide range of Smartphone models especially in measuring call success rates to be put in place. The causes of dropped calls in the network were also studied to ensure an all rounded quality assessment. The data collected during Smartphone network testing can be used by companies to improve on their Smartphone quality being that test are known to show varying quality in varying devices. At the end of the day, a celebrated fact is that Smartphone network testing drives towards ensuring that both the customer and the industry as a whole derive maximum benefits. The high detailed information obtained, encompassed around real-world performance ensures better Smartphone network standards. We can all definitely do with improved call quality, high-speed data internet and fewer call drop rates. Requirements use of Android Smartphone, Apple iOS Smartphone and Windows Smartphone Every company, Apple, Google or even Android comes up with different basic qualifications that their phone designs must have in order to qualify as a Smartphone (Mobilereference,2007). In the case of the Android1.6, 2.1, 2.2, its minimum requirements included; QVGA (240*329 pixels) touch screen, a virtual keyboard support and a USB connection that can connect to a standard USA-A port. Other features that came with it include a 2-Megapixel camera, a home menu that has a back function availed at all times, the ability to support 200kps speed data. Some of the features that were added to make it more appealing to the customers included an Accelerometer, compass GPA receiver and also a Bluetooth transceiver. The windows phone 7 also had some basic requirements. They included a capacitive WVGA resolution (800*480 pixels) touch-screen display screen, a virtual keyboard support,256MB;8GB flash storage capability. This smart phone also came with a 5-Megapixel camera with LED flash, DirectX GPU support along with a home menu that had the Start, Search and Back button embedded permanently. Unlike the Android, the Window 7 came with the Accelerometer, Compass, Bluetooth transceiver Ambient light sensor proximity sensor and even FM radio receiver as basic requirements. The Apple iOS Smartphone came with basic features that included and 8GB memory capacity, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless technology, GPS, Wi-Fi, digital compass. It came with a display screen of 800:1 contrast ratio and a fingerprint-resistant oleo phobic coating in the front and back. It also came with a 3.5-mm stereo headphone mini jack, 5-megapixel iSight camera, and video recording of up to 30 frames per second. Find the applications available related to wireless penetration testing With today’s ever expanding demand for flexibility and mobility in the work place and personal lives, organizations and people have embarked on the use of wireless network, on top of the common wired networks to be able to achieve that. Wireless networks come as further extension to the organizations working perimeter. On the other hand, the move towards expansion is known to come with some loopholes. Wireless networks are considered to be less secure in comparison to the wired network. An insecure network greatly exposes an organization to both internal and external attackers. At an internal level, employees can end up creating rogue access points that can compromise the entire organisation’s network structural security. A much greater security risk comes into play whenever the organization is exposed to the outside world. While evaluating an organization’s wireless penetration test, it is typical to identify all the infrastructural elements that are prone to be both discovered and also connected to. The security measures that are put in place to ensure their efficiency are also evaluated. In most cases, a comprehensive site survey is always done using high powered equipment to aid in spotting available accesses point. The entire wireless network is put under a microscope to pin point both current and loopholes. Wireless penetrations are known to need an internal testing at the end. This is where an internally authorized account is logged into and used as a guinea pig to try and compromise the entire system. This is a sure way of gauging access point adequacy (Allen, 2012). When it comes to looking at some of specific applications related to wireless penetration testing, the DNSChef stands out. It is easily downloadable as dnschef-0.2.1.tar.gz. Its size is 2.4MB and release date for the version was in January 20th, 2013. DNSChef is a dual use application. As much as it is commonly used for penetration testing, it is also applicable as a malware analysis application its proxy is widely usable especially as an application network traffic analyst, on top of other uses. The development of the DNSChef came about as a result of the need for a more configurable penetration test system in the market. It is able to be used in two major platforms. It is applicable in forging responses according to inclusive or/and exclusive domain lists, proxying responses for domains that do not match and even matching them with wildcards, among other features. In the mobile industry, it is not unheard of to come across mobile applications that totally ignore OS HTTP proxy settings. This is where DNSChef some in. it is greatly applicable whenever an application cannot be forced to a different proxy directly. The DNSchef is capable to be used by several operating systems. Before setting it proxy (DNS Proxy) it is critical to ensure that the device to be used has been configured to use the DNS nameserver. This also includes running the tool on it. With its diverse nature, we are able to study how it is applied in windows, iOS and Android. After setup, DNSChef can be run according to specific application requirement. Being a cross platform application under Python, it can be run on python interpreting platforms. In the event of use in windows, one does not need to install the python interpreter. We will use windows as the basis in the applications stated below; this application can be set to intercept all responses in our device and can use multiple types of records from the command lines. It can be used to filter domains while trying to intercept requests. It can also reverse filtering whenever need be. The SQLite is another and can be used both in iOS. In its use as a database for storage of temporary documents, it enables the user to be able to recover the data that was deleted With the technological advancement today, our organizational networks are greater dangers from external attackers. The penetration testing tools have been compelled to advance, faster than expected. They are able to impersonate access points or even initiate man-in the-middle attacks to decrypt networks. With hacker tools like Kismet coming into the market, products like Silica from immunity or backtrack had to be commercialized for penetration testing (Allen, 2012). For mobile devices, core Impact Pro from Core Security was developed. It is developed solely for mobile devices. The Core Impact offers an all round set of feature for our mobile devices, some of them include Reconnaissance of the Wi-Fi network, cracking of encrypted networks, man-in-the-middle client attacks, packet analysis and automated traffic sniffing, among others. This software also comes with application test module designed to emulate multistage attacks, the kind that attackers use, especially in mobile devices. Just like any other application developed, it can either be used for good or bad, even in network security. The truth is one cannot create loopholes that we are not familiar with. Many organizations’s network today can be of great importance to the public hence making them a target for people who would sacrifice day and night to be apple to penetrate them because of the sensitive information. Organizations are better of hiring expert consultants rather than being exposed to network attacks. Bibliography ALLEN, LEE. (2012). Advanced Penetration Testing for Highly-Secured Environments: The Ultimate Security Guide. Olton.UK: Packt Publishing Ltd. MOBILEREFERENCE. (2007). Periodic Table for Smartphones and Mobile Devices. Oregon: MobileReference. MOHAMMAD ILYAS & SYED A. AHSON. (2006). Smartphones: Research Report. Chicago: Intl. Engineering Consortiu. Read More