Using Linux-based wireless tools in OSX

Getting Started

The first thing you'll need to do is get a wireless adapter. No, your built-in Airport will not work. We'll need a USB-based adapter so that VMware can share it to the guest for hardware-level access. For a complete listing of which adapters work with many of the tools, visit the aircrack-ng compatibility page. You're looking for a USB-based adapter, so eliminates most your options. From personal experience, I can recommend the Ralink-based Belkin F5D7050 and Edimax EW-7318USG. The Belkin is a bit less expensive (about $25), but I found that the range is less than useful. The Edimax, on the other hand, is only slightly more expensive (about $35) and comes with a RP-SMA connector and a 4dBi antenna. I much prefer the Edimax.

Next, you'll need purchase a copy of VMware Fusion. You'll also need to download the BackTrack 2 live CD or my modified BackTrack 2 virtual machine (warning: 1GB download). The benefits of the live CD are that you don't need to tie up ~4GB of storage and upgrading to the latest BT is trivial. The benefits of the VM are that it includes the VMware tools (copy/paste, mouse synchronization) , the latest aircrack-ng with PTW support, updated RT73/RT2570 drivers (without which you can't see WPA handshakes), and the ability to make changes that persist across reboots. If you choose the live CD route, you'll need to create a VM to boot it. It's a straight-forward process - the only issue is that it'll force you to create a hard drive. Just create it with the smallest possible value (0.1GB) and remove it from the VM later. Once you have a VM built, set your CD/DVD to use the BT2 ISO that you downloaded. If you downloaded the modified VM, just unzip and double-click the file. If prompted whether you moved or copied the VM, choose "I copied it".

Up and Running

Assuming BT2 booted properly you should have a prompt (or KDE, if you used the VM). You'll need to connect the USB device to the VMware guest. Select Virtual Machine -> USB -> Connect Ralink 802.11 bg WLAN. At this point, the wireless adapter should be recognized by the system and an ifconfig rausb0 up should bring it up. If that works, you're all set!