I am running kismet as root, just to ensure no problems with permissions, and I get this error.
[Start of error message]
kismet
Server options: none
Client options: none
Starting server...
Waiting for server to finish starting before startuing UI...
Will drop privs to smoot (1001)
No enable sources specified, all sources will be enabled.
Source 0 (ciscosource): Using pcap to capture packets from eth1
Source 0 (ciscosource): Attempting to enter monitor mode.
Enabling monitor mode for a cisco card on eth1
Source ciscosource: Created child capture process 6513
Dropped privs to smoot (1001)
Enabling channel hopping.
Disabling channel splitting.
Allowing clients to fetch WEP keys.
Logging networks to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.network
Logging networks in CSV format to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.csv
Logging networks in XML format to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.xml
Logging cryptographically weak packets to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.weak
Logging cisco product information to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.cisco
Logging gps coordinates to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.gps
Logging data to Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.dump
Writing data files to disk every 300 seconds.
Mangling encrypted and fuzzy data packets.
Reading AP manufacturer data and defaults from /etc/ap_manuf
Reading client manufacturer data and defaults from /etc/client_manuf
FATAL: capture child 6513 packet buffer empty and flagged as diseased, exiting
FATAL: Dump file error: Unable to open dump file Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.dump (Perm ission denied)
Starting UI...
FATAL: Could not connect to localhost:2501.
Client exited, terminating...
Done. Run kismet_unmonitor or eject and re-insert your card (or restart your
pcmcia services) to return your card to normal operation.
[End of error message]

Check /etc/services


Cheers,
Tink

FATAL: Dump file error: Unable to open dump file Kismet-Dec-08-2003-1.dump (Perm ission denied)

So here from the Installation Manual by Ritchie
http://www.tipsybottle.com/technolog....shtml#Install Kismet

In RED should be necessary for you!

Install Kismet

Kismet has become one of the standard tools necessary to perform wireless security assessments or just good old war driving. The included features challenge that of most commercial products, and are only limited to the weekly (many times daily) update the author provides.

To compile kismet, complete the following steps.

# cd or cd /root
# tar –xzf kismet-devel.tar.gz
# cd kismet-devel
# ./configure --with-ethereal=/usr/src/ethereal-0.9.14
# make dep
# make
# make install

If you have problems installing Kismet or need help with other configuration options. http://www.kismetwireless.net/documentation.shtml.


Configure Kismet

Kismet must be configured to specify various options including the type of wireless network card you will be using.

Edit the “/usr/local/etc/kismet.conf“ file.
Red Hat -> Accessories -> Text Editor
Open -> /usr/local/etc/kismet.conf
Or use a command line editor such as pico or vi
# pico /usr/local/etc/kismet.conf
Change the following values in kismet.conf.
suiduser=<username you created>
Verify that eth1 is your wireless interface (I have a wired NIC eth0 and the Orinoco as eth1).
source=orinoco,eth1,Kismet
I prefer to specify the exact path where we will place the logs. logtemplate=%h/kismet-logs/%n-%d-%i.%l
Save the “kismet.conf” configuration file and exit.
Make the kismet-logs directory that we stated in the kismet configuration file.
# cd /home/<username you created>
# mkdir kismet-logs
Note – If you have been doing everything as root, be sure to change the permissions on the kismet-logs directory to belong to the user and not to root.
# chown your_user_name:your_user_name kismet-logs