Forum

I recently passed the CWNA exam, and am now studying for the CWSP.

Wi-Foo: The Secrets of Wireless Hacking (on the CWSP recommended reading list) recommends using a laptop with two wireless pc cards for certain man-in-the-middle attacks. However, while I was studying for the CWNA I remember reading (somewhere) that wireless cards should not be used in too close proximity to each other, as they may cause damage to each other.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Would using two wireless pc cards on the same laptop at the same time cause damage to the cards?

The cards should not damage eachother. They can create interfearence for each other. I often test with my built in card and a PCMCIA card in place. You could also use USB for 3 cards. If cards working in the same device could cause damage to eachother, we would not be able to have multi band support (A/B/G) AP's or some of the devices in 802.11n. Some older AP's used two PCMCIA cards whos slots were right next to eachother to achieve multiband support. I think the "damage" you remember is to the signal not to the radio cards.

I also use two WNICs in my laptop. Proxim gold for management and cracking, IntelPro card for internet and general fun...

Thanks for your responses. It certainly makes sense that the two wireless cards can interfere with each other, but will not cause damage - especially in the light of a/b/g cards with multiple antennas, and the proposed 802.11n standard with MIMO technology.