# USB adapters for wifi pentesting

I'm in the market for a new USB wifi pentest adapter (TLDR: I really like the [Panda PAU09 N600](https://www.amazon.com/Panda-Wireless-PAU09-Adapter-Antennas/dp/B01LY35HGO)), and these resources helped me zero-in on good options:

* [Actively maintained list from morrownr](https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/USB_WiFi_Adapters_that_are_supported_with_Linux_in-kernel_drivers.md)
* [A list of cards that work well with hostapdmana](https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/USB_WiFi_Adapters_that_are_supported_with_Linux_in-kernel_drivers.md)
* [Review of various wifi USB card from v1s1t0r1sh3r3](https://github.com/v1s1t0r1sh3r3/airgeddon/wiki/Cards-and-Chipsets)

## Using USB wifi adapter for pentesting

### Put the adapter into monitor mode
Run the "monitor" script from [here](https://github.com/morrownr/Monitor_Mode) to set your card in monitor mode

```
# Grab the repo
git clone https://github.com/morrownr/Monitor_Mode.git
cd ~/Monitor_Mode

# Install necessary packages if not already installed
sudo apt install ethtool iw -y

# Check your wifi interfaces
iw dev

# That output will show something like:
#phy#0

#Interface wlan0
#blah
#blah
#blah

# Put that interface into monitor mode
sudo ./start-mon.sh wlan0
```

## Troubleshooting
### LAN connection go bye bye?
If you find yourself suddenly without LAN connectivity after enabling monitor mode, ChatGPT says:

*"This is a classic side-effect of monitor mode / airmon-ng shenanigans. Your Wi-Fi testing didn’t break networking permanently — it just knocked your LAN config sideways."*  To fix it:

```
sudo dhclient eth0
```

### Video demo
<div style="padding:56.25% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/1150374380?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" title="Wifi pentesting with USB adapters and Proxmox"></iframe></div><script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script>