Abstract:

Packet sniffing is a problem that affects mostly public Wi-Fi networks where a hacker gains access to the network and can intercept network traffic such as passwords and email messages to mention a few. Packet sniffing is possible because of a computer’s Wireless Network Interface Card to run in promiscuous mode and the connectivity provided by the network. The aim of this research was to improve network data security by combating packet sniffing at the University of Limpopo focusing mainly on the Edu-room Wi-Fi.

To combat this problem, the first objective was to measure the strength of the Wi-Fi against packet sniffing. Secondly, we prevented computers running in promiscuous mode from accessing the Wi-Fi. Thirdly, we detected computers that are already connected but change their modes to promiscuous. Lastly, we evaluated the different anomaly detection methods to go with the second and third objectives.