To do wireless penetration testing with Kali Linux a compatible USB adapter / dongle is needed to be able to go into monitor mode, do packet injections, or be able to do the things necessary while wireless pen testing. When looking for an adapter that works with Kali it is the chipset of the adapter that enables it to do pen testing. It is the chipset of the adapter that controls whether it is compatible with Kali or not. Many of these chipsets are installed in different adapters and sold. So if you come across a name brand adapter that has a kali Linux compatible chipset and then see the same chipset in another generic USB adapter most likely it will work.

1. Make Kali Linux Usb

I will list examples of this at the bottom of the page. It is better to focus more on the chipset rather than the vendor model name. Whatever you do don’t buy a wireless G only USB adapter. Wireless G is useless unless you are only targeting wireless G routers and devices.

Wireless N is backward compatible so it can be used on wireless G or N. Most routers and devices now are setup with wireless N.

Another thing to keep in mind is the range the adapter will have. Small USB adapters are great for staying low profile but their range is limited compared to an adapter with a larger 5 dbi or 9 dbi antenna. Here are the most common chipsets used with Kali Linux. Any USB adapter that uses these chipsets will most likely work with Kali. Atheros AR9271 Ralink RT3070 Ralink RT3572 Realtek 8187L (Wireless G adapters) UPDATE There is a new Pen Testing USB adapter that has been working very well called the.

It is a dual band 2.4 / 5 GHz wireless-N dongle that uses the Ralink RT5572. Here are the top Kali Linux compatible wireless USB adapters with links to Amazon and AliExpress if available. Adapters that use the Ralink RT3070 Chipset Adapters that use the Atheros AR9271 Chipset TP-LINK TL-WN722N 2.4 GHz. (Version 1 only, Version 2 does not work) Adapter that use the RT3572 chipset Wireless G only USB adapters, Realtek 8187L chipset The following USB adapters are dongles that were best sellers in the past but since they only support wireless G they have become dated.

Cheap long range adapter that works with Kali Here is an example of a cheap long range adapter (48 dBi) that uses the Ralink 3070 chipset that works well with Kali. It does have problems with any version of Windows that is not Windows 7 and does not work with Macs. For adapters that have good support go with one of the above wireless N name-brand-adapters.

↓. SH1V4M Hi I m a using Kali nethunter in my Yureka plus phone and Kali Linux via Linux deploy in same phone with cm 13 rom I also own a laptop in which is multiboot with Kali Linux and windows 7 Both phone and laptop internal WiFi does not support monitor mode Can u suggest me a WiFi dongle or adapter which works fine with both phone’ net hunter and Kali Linux and on window 7 Size and price doesn’t matter Actually I want WiFi for hacking and learning purpose And in phone it must be plug and play as u know drivers literary can not be installed.

Thanx in advance. ↓.

Frankie HI, what version kali are you using with above:AWUS051NH? I have recently purchased the same and tried installing it on ubuntu & kali both kernel 4.x and neither are able to recognize the card. Are you using the latest version kali with success? If so please advise which drivers you used for the card. I installed the RT2800 driver, but packet injection fails,allthough i can go into monitor mode somewhat the adapter hangs and the xmon interface drops constantly. Any helpful response would be appreciated. ↓.

WirelessHack It is possible you got a bad adapter but Kali 2.0 and the new aircrack-ng 1.2 has been doing some strange things. I got weird errors when using Windows 10 and Kali 2.0 with aircrack 1.2. I found a fix to the errors which I posted about here I have no problems running from the DVD or using Kali 1.0 and aircrack 1.2. Since you are using a Mac I wonder if you are running into your own problems. You can try Kali 1.0 or even Backtrack 5 to see if it clears up. If not than I would return the adapter. ↓.

anon hi thanks for the reply i’m not sure if its the adaptor or its just the drivers aren’t compatible with the latest Mac os, when i searched alfa/ralink for the drivers “just incase the supplied ones were behind” i couldn’t find the V2 version of the awus051nh V2.only the awus051nh which are the ones supplied with the adaptor although when i connect the adaptor to my Mac it doesn’t even detect the adaptor? Is that a sign of it not being compatible? When i connected it to an old windows laptop i use for some diagnostic programs running windows xp pro’ it detected it right away & connected to my network no trouble at all. I think the biggest problem is i can’t install the wireless utility that came with the adaptor.i’ll get a ralink symbol in the task bar and another in launchpad but neither work they send me back to the home screen very annoying.but i’ll take a look at the link you’ve posted and see where to go from there.thanks. ↓. Pedro Hi, I am planning to buy this adapter. It says Supported Wireless Protocols:Wi-Fi 802.11a, Wi-Fi 802.11b, Wi-Fi 802.11g, Wi-Fi 802.11n do you think it would work with latest kali version?

I am very new to kali and those all hacking features. Last adapter I had did not want to go to airmon0 mode.

I spent around a day figuring out why it is NOT doing what I want, tried downloading various drivers. As it turned out it was not compatible with kali. So what do you think, this one would work with latest kali?

I have kali installed into external hard drive, so it runs on its own without any virtual operating systems. ↓.

H4ck Hi, I am new to wireless hacking. I have done only one successful WPS attack in the dedicated Kali Linux. I am willing to know more about the wireless hacking. I am currently having Mac OS X with KaliLinux in the VMplayer. My Question: 1. Which is the best wireless adapter is good for hacking + learning new?

Which good for Mac? Wifi adapter 802.11a/b/g/n is the best or 802.11b/g/n is better. Which one should I choose? Link: Final question: Which one should I select Alfa AWUS051NH or Alfa AWUS036NH or Alfa AWUS036NHA?

Thanks in Advance 🙂. ↓. WirelessHack 1It depends on the person and their setup as to the best adapter for Kali. For example someone may need more range than another and want a bigger dBi antenna. Price may be a factor and getting the cheapest to test with may be best option. All the above adapters work with Kali so it comes down to personal choices.

2As long as a adapter has the drivers to work with a Mac their should be no issues. Reading the reviews on Amazon or the forums may be the best for this question as I dont use Macs much. 3Wireless-N is backward compatible with 802.11ab so it is best to go with a Wireless-N USB adapter. The Alfa AWUS051NH, AWUS036NH,AWUS036NHA all work with Kali and Pen testing but some do have features that may be more important. Such as the Alfa AWUS051NH which is a dual band adapter that works in the new 5Ghz range and the old 2.4 GHz range. They are all good adapters to use with Kali so it comes down to personal choice.

↓. WirelessHack Since this site get hits from all over the world, and many countries dont use Amazon but AliExpress I put a link for them. Countries such as Russia and Brazil use AliExpress the way the USA uses Amazon. I cant vouch for the adapter being genuine from wherever they are sold Amazon/AliExpress/eBay. The comment section on Amazon has some people claiming they are counterfeit from some sellers. Wherever an adapter is bought be sure of the return policy in-case it is a knock-off since they have run rampant in the past.

↓. Peter Many thanks for this interesting overview. Can it be that thes adapters may work with kali-linux, however do not work with virtual-box or wmware. I made this experience with eg. The AWUSO36NH. Is there a comptability problem or did I make something wrong. The adpater worked on the host win8.1 but not in a virtual box!

Whenever I connected the adapter to the virtual box it stopped working. Thank you for your comment. I tried to install the respective Alfa Drivers also on Kali-Linux, however without success!

Could you recomend any wifi-usb adapters that work in virtual-box or vmware on a win 8.1 host? ↓. WirelessHack I mainly use Kali Linux/VMware Player with Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and have never had any major issues yet. Running any Operating System virtually inside another Operating System is always prone to errors since the the virtual software (VMware, Virtual Box) is what is controlling how it talks to the hardware via Windows/Mac drivers.

Running Kali as a dedicated install or from a live DVD/flash drive will get rid of these problems. It has been years since I have had to install drivers into Kali itself for any of the popular USB dongles that are currently used. With the exception of the Alfa AWUS051NH Dual Band USB adapter which Alfa changed the chipset on.

Kali Linux works with a limited set of WIFI network adapters, and getting the best network adapter is like black magic. In the good old days of Backtrack, I would always have recommended a 54 Mbps card from Alfa – called the Alfa AWUS036H.

This card was amazing and would pick up 2-3 times as many networks as more powerful cards. This leads us to the first point about KALI Network adapters – the chipset is more important than the adapter itself. The Alfa AWUS036H used the Realtek 8187L chipset – and nothing came close to its performance. Of course, who wants a 2.4 Ghz, 54 Mbps adapter these days? Step 1 – Research the Chipset The chipset is the ultimate decider of whether a network adapter will flunk or be awesome with Kali Linux – choose wisely, as even yours truly has bought an expensive adapter that proved to be utterly useless. Atheros AR9271 Ralink RT3070 Ralink RT3572 Realtek 8187L (Wireless G adapters) Realtek RTL8812AU (Wireless AC.Kali 2017.1 only) The reference section links the chipset to drivers.Update Kali 2017.

The new Kali Linux, version 2017.1, also adds support for Realtek’s RTL8812AU wireless chipsets, it is a very useful feature because these chipsets are used by major modem-makers like Belkin, D-Link, and TP-Link. Step 2 – Use Alfa cards – lazy option You are humbly introduced to Alfa network cards – Alfa dominate the Penetration Testing scene.

Not all Alfa’s work with Kali on a plug n play basis. So we still need to be selective. We are looking for network adapters that can carry out “monitor mode ” and “packet injection”. If your dream card cannot do this – then backtrack. Backtrack, gedit Step 3 – Wardriving Paddles & Antennas Use wardriving paddles to increase your adapters signal strength. A rule of thumb here is that every 3 db increase in power, will double your signal strength.

So an Alfa antenna with a 10 db gain – means triple your signal strength. 10 db gain antenna – for 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz networks The panel antenna fits onto the Alfa adapters, and costs between £12 and £20. The wardriving paddle works with only 2.4 Ghz networks, and gives 7 db gain for £11. I really like using the wardriving paddle, however 2.4 Ghz networks are dying out.

Step 4 – Current strongest Kali Network adapters Alfa AWUS036ACH (with Kali 2017) The new Kali Linux, version 2017.1, also adds support for Realtek’s RTL8812AU wireless chipsets, but needs a USB 3 port for maximum speed. “A while back, we received a feature request asking for the.

These drivers are not part of the standard Linux kernel, and have been modified to allow for injection. Why is this a big deal? This chipset supports 802.11 AC, making this one of the first drivers to bring injection-related wireless attacks to this standard, and with companies such as ALFA making the AWUS036ACH wireless cards, we expect this card to be an arsenal favorite.” continues the announcement.

The AWUS036ACH currently costs £46 on Amazon. Apt install realtek-rtl88xxau-dkms.Comment on Amazon: BEST RESULT is Achieved with a small improvement: ONE 9DBI ANTENNA on RIGHT PLUG, One 5DBI ANTENNA on LEFT plug ( one of the2 of the original package) the intensity JUMPED from – 63dbi(AWUS036H) to -35dbi (AWUS036ACH).It is plug’s order sensitive, don’t reverse R/L.

Make Kali Linux Usb

Also the throughtput jumped from 110 KBytes to 140 KBytes.Caution: Driver issues with the AWUS036ACH. The “ACH” works well, works in monitor mode, but has issues with injection. I’ve placed a caution in here, as I need secondary evidence that the latest drivers will successfully inject, and that they are reliable. Here’s an example of the driver issue – and the card failing to inject. Alfa Network AWUS036NHA – Black Alfa The AWUS036NHA uses the Atheros AR9271 chipset drivers. 150 Mbps – costs around £20.

Note the comment about region set to BO. BO = Bolivia. There are no radio laws in Bolivia so you can TX at maximum power. Alfa Network AWUS036NH – Green or Teal Alfa Comments/test results found: ALFA Network AWUS051NH V2 (Version 2) 2.4/ 5GHz The AWUS051NH uses the RALink3572 chipset. It’s plug n play in Kali and injection capable. 300 Mbps – costs around £35. ALFA Network AWUS052NH 2.4/ 5GHz Dual Band 300Mbp/s This uses the RT3572 chipset and reportedly works with Kali out of the box for G/N/A networks and uses a USB 2 port, which will limit its speeds.

Reports found it weak when used with Windows. Amazon comment found about AWUS052NH It looks great too, this adapter is plug and play with Kali Linux. But is hard to find, therefore costs over £40. I really like the look of this.

But need to find more corroborating evidence regarding its compatibility with Kali – but it’s looking good. Non Alfa Adapters – TPLink WN 722N Non Alfa Adapters – Comfast using AR9271 chipset Alfa Adapters – AWUS036NHR V2 -AVOID!! Note the chipset – RTL8188RU. This chipset is known to have issues. In Conclusion:.

I’d go with the Orange Alfa Adapter – AWUS052NH – if you have a USB 2 port. If you have a USB 3 port, then take a chance on the AWUS036ACH, even though I have yet to find corroborating evidence that the latest drivers are stable. There’s no price difference between the 2 adapters. Final words – watch out for the USB 2 port The speed of the USB port will affect the performance of the adapter. The AWUS036ACH is designed to be connected to a USB 3.0 port You can connect it to a USB 2.0 port, but there will be a transfer cap issue since the USB 2.0 is capped at 480Mbps, below the theoretical 867Mbps allowed by the protocol ac. USB 1.1: 12 Mbps. USB 2.0: 480 Mbps.

USB 3.0: 4.8 Gbps. USB 3.1: 10 Gbps. Increasing the signal of your WIFI adapter – this video is so funny and so informative. Disclaimer: Last point, am I paid by Alfa networks? Do they provide me with kit to test? I wish they did.

If you have a wifi network adatper that works with Kali 2 – plug n play then please let me know. That’s the trouble with being independent and impartial – no free lunch.

Reference. Hi Bruce, You’ll need to upspec to the 5GHZ network cards – as most networks are moving in this direction.

However most 5GHZ cards have problems capturing packets. You could try the AWUS036NHA adapter. In the old days of G band networks, there was an outstanding adapter however with the newer 5GHZ network adapters, there is no clear winner – they all have issues. I would suggest using high gain antennas, such as the Alfa panel adapter – as each 3DB gain will effectively double your signal strength – and stablise the connection. You may need to change the transmission power to Bolivia – as then you can use the full strength of the adapter. Laws in the US and Europe restrict the signal power, so you may only get half the actual power of the adapter.

I hope this helps. Hi Bruce, A new annoucement on Kali adapters has just been released – with support for a new Alfa Adapter – AWUS036ACH. A while back, we received a feature request asking for the inclusion of drivers for RTL8812AU wireless chipsets. These drivers are not part of the standard Linux kernel, and have been modified to allow for injection. Why is this a big deal? This chipset supports 802.11 AC, making this one of the first drivers to bring injection-related wireless attacks to this standard, and with companies such as ALFA making the AWUS036ACH wireless cards, we expect this card to be an arsenal favorite. So you’ve asked a great question!

I found your site a few months and get new posts via email. I share your interests in security and privacy. I came here to leave a note pointing you to the news about the new Kali version including support for our AWUS036ACH. I see you have already updated your post.

I think your blog deserves re-branding/renaming with a real URL so it is easier to point people this way. Do they provide me with kit to test? I wish they did. We have something coming out that I would like to show you. 2137 Hello, I have been doing research on Alfa cards for a few days and now I feel like I know less than before I see so many contradictory informations and it’s driving me crazy. I am using TP-Link TL-WN722N now, but I feel that it lacks power. I was about to buy an AWUS036NHR but I’ve read that it’s not very good on Linux (I am using Arch).

Now I am battling myself between AWUS036NHA and AWUS036ACH. From opinions I know that NHA appears to be best Alfa around, but it lacks 5ghz support and that’s a big issue. However I am not sure about stability, ability of injecting packets and overall performance of ACH. Could you please provide me with some info which one should I choose? It’s been almost a year since you’ve made this post and things could have changed. Thanks in advance. Hi 2137, Kali has included support for the Realtek RTL8812 chipset used in the AWUS036ACH – this provides the AC or 5GHZ support.

The ACH does inject packets. Kali 2017.1 in a VM also works with the host wifi adapter if you’re using a Dell laptop, and a Windows OS with a Virtual version of Linux. The driver support for monitor mode and injection with the RTL8812 is here: The 5GHZ is best when close to the access point – say within 30 foot or so.

For longer distance the 2.4GHZ gives the range but with reduced speeds. If you use a USB 3 port, then you’ll get maximum speed. If you use a USB 2 port, then your speed will be significantly reduced. I hope this helps. Hi 2137, The ACH is an excellent choice, as you know its drivers have been created and tested specifically for Linux. The 9dbi antenna is great, as every 3db doubles the strength.

That said, the 2.4GHZ panel is my favourite as you get the range with that frequency. These antennas will keep your connections stable. Next I’m testing out the AWUS1900 – which uses the RTL8814u chip. Fingers crossed that it works out for me if it works for the RTL8812U chip, the drivers should double up on the 8814U as well. Let me know how you get on with the ALFA kit.