NetSpot 4.0.4462

Overview

NetSpot is a wireless local area network survey package for the Mac.

The software will display all the available Wi-Fi networks, connect to the right one, and then it can perform a coverage survey. The software can check the coverage across an entire site to build up a reliable picture of wireless access. This is useful for home owners who wish to ensure they have every part of their home is covered for internet access and businesses alike who need to ensure all office users can access one of the wireless access points to the corporate network.

NetSpot is useful for identifying possible noise sources causing wireless interference, radio signal leakage points, and to determine local wireless channel usage which could cause problems.

Multiple surveys can be conducted over time. Areas can be marked and labeled to cover how each part of the survey area related to a part of a building, a floor of a building or an area of a residential home.

The software with work on any 802.11 wireless network.

Installation

The installation completed without any issues.

There was no adware, toolbars, spyware or malware included with the setup package.

NetSpot requires Mac OS X 10.6 or higher.

Interface

The interface reflects the complexity of this app. On the left is a listing of the available Wi-Fi networks in the area. On the right side is the ability to see the area and map out any parts of the location that are dead zones for Wi-Fi coverage.

The software can switch between two main navigation tabs: Discover (for finding Wi-Fi networks) and Survey (to walk around and check how strong the Wi-Fi coverage is within the location).

The interface is fairly simple to use with good use of color and mapping. It should not take too long for a Mac user to learn how to make the most of this software.

Pros

• See what Wi-Fi networks are available
• Connect to a Wi-Fi network and map out how good the coverage is in different locations between Access Points
• Software can be used for work Wi-Fi networks where network admins need to verify that the Wi-Fi coverage via Access Points covers all important areas of the office environment
• Perform several Wi-Fi surveys for different locations

Cons

• None.

Alternatives

KisMac is an older network scanner and network sniffer for the Mac. InSSIDer (Win, Mac) is another similar software.

Conclusion

NetSpot is a very useful wireless mapping tool for the Mac which can help confirm whether wireless access is available in all areas of a residential home or business location.