EH-Net

I will be taking a class on computer security next semester, but I just wanted to ask a few questions of my own before then. I have heard about programs such as Airsnort, but what exactly do they do? I mean...what information do they give you? Are they like keyloggers, or is there primary function to obtain the wep key? Also, with programs like that, do you simply get your laptop close to the other machine to read it? Is it really that simple to record someone's keystrokes/etc. that way? I was thinking about doing some testing with my own wireless network, but just wanted to get some information first. Anything you guys can tell me (or point me in the direction of some tutorials/sites) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Air Snort isn't a keylogger at all, it's defined as "a Linux and Microsoft Windows utility (using GTK+) for decrypting WEP encryption on an 802.11b network." - AirSnort Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AirSnort). I wouldn't say it's simple to record another users key strokes, your most likely thinking about sniffing traffic on a network. If users on your network are sending information over HTTP, etc it's sent in clear text, there it can be sniffed. I'd suggest you take the Offensive Security WiFu course (http://offensive-security.com/training.php), it's relatively cheap and introduces you to the most common tools used to break into Access Points. Haven't heard much from users about it but you might find it interesting.

There are a wealth of tools currently available on the internet namely BackTrack 3 distro. I personally use the LIVE CD and find it very helpful. A quick google search will yield hours of reading to get you started.