Lately I've been doing some wireless auditing, specifically trying to find rogue access points. I'm working in *large* concrete buildings, so there's no hope of getting a GPS signal.

Just out of curiosity, are there any devices that will tell me my position, either absolute (i.e. like GPS), or relative to an initial starting location? A lot of these areas might not have other (authorized) APs, so I can't triangulate my location based on them. And while simply checking signal strength and noting my location works sometimes, it doesn't really cut it when I need *massive* data sets and perhaps multiple visits in order to actually find the thing.

I'm not necessarily looking for anything ready-made, but maybe more like a custom solution, maybe something like a USB/serial WAAS or other radio receiver, or even some sort of accelerometer/tilt sensor arrangement.

Thanks,
Jason

I wonder if such a thing would be possible due to the number of reflections that a signal would take reaching you.

I found this article on wifi location being developed by Apple and Google for the iPhone.
http://navdeep-manaktala.blogspot.co...on-finder.html
It mentions some competitors as well so the article might be a start for your research.

I suggest laying down flooring that provides a electronic grid. Then use RFID to locate the desire object. Low frequencies can transfer through concrete.

Hey, that's even more expensive than hiring someone to make notes of my position at millisecond intervals and relate them to the signal logs!

On a side-note, since I don't want to start another thread so quickly, I have an asus eeePC that I'd really like to use for auditing, but last time I checked, the Atheros card in it doesn't go into monitor mode (it's running under NDisWrapper, as no native drivers are available). I'd rather not crack it open - can anyone suggest a USB wireless NIC that works well under Linux and will do monitor mode - as many bands as possible, preferably a/b/g?

And yeah, the more I google around, and make some calls to knowledgeable people, the best method seems to be just walking around with the laptop open, and typing in room numbers that I pass as I walk... not beautiful, but it works.

Atheros works natively in Linux. You should not have to use ndiswrapper for it. Look up madwifi. Also Eee Pc comes with Linux pre-installed.

RFID costs less than pennies. They are used in bookstores and soon will be use in groceries stores. Then a refrigerator will use it to order supplies when they get low.

Look up Zigbee to simplify setup. I am thinking CPS (Cambridge Positioning Systems) or E-GPS (Enhanced-GPS).