Auto-NDISwrapper/Getting WPA&WPA2 support for AWUS036H in managed mode

Initially I was only going to start a thread to notify people of this handy script that will automate the whole installation process of ndiswrapper for several wireless cards. The script is intended to make the procedure easier by automatically downloading the appropriate drivers for your card and installing them.

Lately there have however been quite a few posts asking for specific directions on how to use ndiswrapper along with the popular AWUS036H wireless card (Alfa 500mw). As many of you without doubt already are aware of the default drivers included for this card does not support connecting to WPA/WPA2 encrypted APs and the only possible way to do this at the moment is by using ndiswrapper. For most wireless cards auto-NDISwrapper will make any tutorials obsolete due to the simplicity of the process, but there is still a bug in the current version of the script preventing it to fully work with the Alfa card. Because of this I changed my mind and chose to convert the announcement into a brief step-by-step guide on how to use the script using the Alfa card as an example.

First of all we will need to download the actual auto-NDISwrapper script, as it was released merely a few days ago and therefore naturally is not included in BT3F. The script can be downloaded at the following location: http://easylinuxwifi.org/

Once downloaded to a location of your choice unpack the file using the following command:

Code:

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tar xvzf Auto-NDIS-0.1.tar.gz

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Next make sure that your Alfa card is properly connected to your computer and then cd into the newly created directory and start the script using:

Code:

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python auto-ndis.py

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This will start the installation process and you will want to follow the given instructions from this point onward. If you have an internal wireless card beside the Alfa card you need to make sure to choose u at the first prompt asking:

Quote:

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Setup (w)ificard or setup your (u)sbcard?:

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Next you will notice that the script tells you to manually download the driver from a location which does not exist. Open a second terminal window and use the following command to download the correct windows driver:

Code:

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wget http://www.netgate.com/info/ALFA/Driver_1313_98ME_0613.zip

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After downloading the file unzip it using:

Code:

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unzip Driver_1313_98ME_0613.zip

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Since auto-NDISwrapper wants us to manually place the .inf along with the .sys file into a specific location we copy the appropriate files from our recently created directory. The following commands will take care of that:

Code:

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cd Driver_1313_98ME_0613/Win98/
cp rtl8187.sys /tmp/auto-ndis/0bda\:8187/
cp Netrtuw.inf /tmp/auto-ndis/0bda\:8187/

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Now that we have the driver in place lets go back to the terminal running Auto-NDISwrapper and hit [ENTER] to complete the installation.
To actually use the ndiswrapper driver along with our Alfa card we will only have to unload the r8187 driver and load the ndiswrapper driver instead.

Code:

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rmmod r8187
modprobe ndiswrapper

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You will now be able to connect to your WPA/WPA2 encrypted AP using the method of your choice, I personally tested both Wireless Assistant and wpa_supplicant. If the interface does not show up at once try unloading and reloading the ndiswrapper driver.
To get back into monitor mode and to be able to inject you will naturally have to revert back to the default driver.

Code:

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rmmod ndiswrapper
modprobe r8187

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Naturally the same result could have been achieved simply by using the already included ndiswrapper in BT3F, but as the script will make the process much simpler for a growing number of cards I chose this approach to make potential users aware of its existence.

Tron,
Thank you! I've been fumbling with ndiswrapper for a week. I'll give this a go.
Thanks again for your efforts. I was using the wrong driver :|

Just a quick note for the person who follows me. This worked great, but if you like me had installed the wrong drivers, you will have to remove them with ndiswrapper first or autondis will complain that the driver is already installed so you must do the following first:

bt#~ ndiswrapper -r rtl8187

then


bt#~ ndiswrapper -r netrtuw

After this follow Trons instructions to the T and you should have no more problems



-M

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dirtscience

This worked great, but if you like me had installed the wrong drivers, you will have to remove them with ndiswrapper first or autondis will complain that the driver is already installed so you must do the following first:

bt#~ ndiswrapper -r rtl8187

then

bt#~ ndiswrapper -r netrtuw

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Thank you dirtscience for completing my guide with this additional piece of information. I am assuming that you start off with a clean plate in the guide, but in case you previously have attempted to use ndiswrapper with the wrong driver you will most likely need to use the commands given by dirtscience first.

To check whether there currently are any drivers installed with ndiswrapper use the following command:

Code:

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ndiswrapper –l

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Great tutorial. :D

Thanks tron for making the time to do that:)

Hello all,
I'm a real newbie with backtrack and no nothing about linux but I am willing
to learn. I think you guys are talking about using the Afla 500mw usb adapter
with backtrack. I just picked one of these up and was hoping to use it with backtrack 3.
I have backtrack 3 on a cd and usb flash drive but I'm not at the level to understand
the instructions just descibed. Would the above instructions be written
for someone who knows nothing about linux?

I have been able to use backtrack 3 with my pcmcia card sucessfully.
Thank you
Ken

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KenKKK

Hello all,
I'm a real newbie with backtrack and no nothing about linux but I am willing
to learn. I think you guys are talking about using the Afla 500mw usb adapter
with backtrack. I just picked one of these up and was hoping to use it with backtrack 3.

---

That is correct, however the instructions provided above are only needed for connecting to WPA/WPA2 encrypted networks using the device. For anything else you will only need to connect the device and use the correct tool/command. As the card is a very popular one among the users of BT you will find countless posts about how to use it on the forum.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KenKKK

I have backtrack 3 on a cd and usb flash drive but I'm not at the level to understand
the instructions just descibed. Would the above instructions be written
for someone who knows nothing about linux?

---

I tried to write the guide in an as easy-to-follow manner as possible and honestly believe that just about anyone could follow it as all the needed steps are included. You might want to keep in mind though that BT is not the most newbie friendly Linux distro out there and probably not the easiest one to start out with.

Hello,
Thank you for replying. First, can you tell me what that command
would be.. With the Afla 500mw usb adapter connected, backtrack 3
running, open a shell and type airmon-ng, I do not see it.
"For anything else you will only need to connect the device and use the correct tool/command"

Yes, I would also like to learn about using the Afla with WPA/WPA2.
I just need a little more help with the step by steps for someone
who has backtrack up and running and is ready for step 1

Thanks
Ken

Quote:

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Originally Posted by =Tron=

That is correct, however the instructions provided above are only needed for connecting to WPA/WPA2 encrypted networks using the device. For anything else you will only need to connect the device and use the correct tool/command. As the card is a very popular one among the users of BT you will find countless posts about how to use it on the forum.

I tried to write the guide in an as easy-to-follow manner as possible and honestly believe that just about anyone could follow it as all the needed steps are included. You might want to keep in mind though that BT is not the most newbie friendly Linux distro out there and probably not the easiest one to start out with.

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KenKKK

Hello,
Thank you for replying. First, can you tell me what that command
would be.. With the Afla 500mw usb adapter connected, backtrack 3
running, open a shell and type airmon-ng, I do not see it.

---

Seriously, I am not trying to sound rude, but all the information that you need can easily be found here: http://forums.remote-exploit.org/search.php

As for your question, to check if your device is currently recognized by BT you should use the following command:

Code:

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iwconfig

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If your device is not listed you can always try to manually load the correct driver with the following command:

Code:

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modprobe r8187

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by KenKKK

"For anything else you will only need to connect the device and use the correct tool/command"

Yes, I would also like to learn about using the Afla with WPA/WPA2.
I just need a little more help with the step by steps for someone
who has backtrack up and running and is ready for step 1

Thanks
Ken

---

If you have BackTrack up and running and are ready for step 1 you are ready to start with the steps explained in the tutorial. I will gladly help you with any specific questions you might have regarding to the process. I will however not write you another one just because you are too lazy to try out the one already provided with all the required steps included.

I tried following the instructions. I have questions along
with my results so far.

Should this matter if I am booting from a USB memory stick instead
of a CD?

I assume I am suppose to have an ethernet cable connected
to my router for Internet access for it to download the drivers?
I didn't but thought about this later.
I downloaded them manually and copy them to my 2gig memory stick
which is what I use to boot backtrack 3.

I used (in Windows XP) winrar to unzip everything to my usb memory
stick. I noticed you mentioned what I am guessing to me a linux
unzipping command? Was it OK the way I did it? I seem to be
able to see the .inf file and rtlxxxxx file.

Doing my best to navigate through directories by copy an paste,
I think I got it to the right directory. It appears to do something
by asking me if my device is working. Other than doing a airmon-ng
I do not know what else I should do to know if it's working.
airmon-ng just shows eth1 my internal adapter.

Am I getting close to this installation?
If I ever get it right, would this be now installed
on my usb memory stick so I can use it on other laptops?

Has anyone done all of this and uploaded a working backtrack 3 ISO?

Thank you,

Ken

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KenKKK

I tried following the instructions. I have questions along
with my results so far.

Should this matter if I am booting from a USB memory stick instead
of a CD?

---

No.

Quote:

---

I assume I am suppose to have an ethernet cable connected
to my router for Internet access for it to download the drivers?
I didn't but thought about this later.
I downloaded them manually and copy them to my 2gig memory stick
which is what I use to boot backtrack 3.

---

It does not matter how you get a hold of the files, copying them over to an external media that you can access will work just as well as downloading them directly in BT.

Quote:

---

I used (in Windows XP) winrar to unzip everything to my usb memory
stick. I noticed you mentioned what I am guessing to me a linux
unzipping command? Was it OK the way I did it? I seem to be
able to see the .inf file and rtlxxxxx file.

---

Yes.

Quote:

---

Doing my best to navigate through directories by copy an paste,
I think I got it to the right directory. It appears to do something
by asking me if my device is working. Other than doing a airmon-ng
I do not know what else I should do to know if it's working.
airmon-ng just shows eth1 my internal adapter.

---

In case you did all the previous steps correctly all that is needed to use the ndiswrapper driver with your Alfa is the following two commands: rmmod r8187 and modprobe ndiswrapper. After this use the command iwconfig, not airmon-ng, to check if the wireless device is recognized.

Quote:

---

Am I getting close to this installation?
If I ever get it right, would this be now installed
on my usb memory stick so I can use it on other laptops?

---

Only if you have configured the installation to save all modifications made by you onto the actual memory stick. This process is beyond the scope of this thread so please do not ask for directions on how to do it here.

Quote:

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Has anyone done all of this and uploaded a working backtrack 3 ISO?

Thank you,

Ken

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No, it is a very basic process that will take less than 5 minutes done correctly, so there is hardly any need for an additional ISO with these changes pre-made.