Windows' wireless network administration section isn't very complete. In fact, recent versions don't even report the security type that protects a network, and we have to dig into advanced sections to get that information. Fortunately, there are far more convenient alternatives that let you scan WiFi networks with relative ease, and one of the best is WiFiInfoView, developed by Nirsoft.
Scanning local WiFi networks to learn more about them isn't mandatory, but it's very useful when troubleshooting wireless connectivity issues. From natural limits in signal strength to inevitable conflicts on congested channels, everything becomes clear when you access more advanced parameters. And Windows doesn't report those—at least not directly. While there are secondary commands under the command prompt, they aren't particularly convenient. If you want to scan WiFi networks and get data about them more easily, you need to download a copy of WifiInfoView, another creation of the prolific Nirsoft.
WifiInfoView: A Free and Portable Tool to Scan WiFi Networks
When you run WiFiInfoView for the first time, it activates its "Full Details" mode, which displays the SSID of each network, the MAC address of routers and access points, signal quality (maximum and average), channel number and bandwidth in MHz, frequency, hardware manufacturer, security type, available encryption, reported maximum speed, and much more.
From the View menu you can access various summaries to reduce the number of columns. For example, Channels Summary focuses on channels, showing the number of routers detected on each and overall signal quality. Max Speed reports all maximum speeds recorded on the networks, and Security Summary does the same for protocols. Another option to examine is the WPS summary, which detects networks using that technology (remember it carries a security risk).
Finally, WiFiInfoView's advanced mode supports using specific wireless adapters (in case there are two or more WiFi modules on the computer), and filtering networks with parameters such as detection time, channel number, SSID, and signal quality. In summary: if you need to scan WiFi networks, WifiInfoView will be an excellent ally, and as always with Nirsoft programs, it's free and portable.
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