Which statement best describes Kismet's function?

• A. An antivirus program
• B. A network detector, packet sniffer, and IDS for 802.11 wireless LANs
• C. A network time protocol server
• D. A spam filter

Answer: (B)

Kismet is designed to monitor wireless networks. It functions as a detector, a packet sniffer, and an intrusion detection system specifically for 802.11 WLANs. It operates in monitor mode to passively listen to all wireless traffic, identifying nearby access points and clients, collecting frame data, and decoding details like SSID, encryption type, channel, and BSSID. By correlating this information, it can reveal rogue APs, misconfigurations, or suspicious activity, making it a valuable tool for security assessments and wireless auditing. It’s not an antivirus, not a time server, and not a spam filter—those tools serve entirely different purposes (host protection, time synchronization, and email filtering, respectively).