Wireless › Module 1 › Lesson 3
Lab Radio Only
Your lab AP lives at $LAB_SSID on YOUR hardware — never bridged stranger networks.
Visual · wireless_lab_radio_only
Lab AP you control. SSID = $LAB_SSID. $LAB_IFACE only. Original Cyberlium.
Opening
Capturing the apartment building SSID list is everyone else's problem. YOUR lab AP keeps wireless where it belongs.
RoE named the SSID. This lesson names the radio boundary. A wireless lab belongs on an AP and client pair you own — isolated from roommates, classmates, and café patrons. $LAB_SSID is the name of that AP — not the neighbor upstairs, not the airport free Wi-Fi. You verify association to $LAB_SSID from YOUR lab client on YOUR segment. You do NOT wardrive for 'practice targets,' do NOT deauth stranger APs, do NOT pivot through a bridged dorm LAN. Next: RoE Lab.
1. Your AP means you control the BSSID
A lab AP can be a consumer router in an isolated room, a dedicated test AP, or a VM-backed soft-AP — as long as YOU set the SSID to $LAB_SSID and strangers do not depend on it. Document channel, band, and who may associate.
If association to $LAB_SSID fails, fix the lab topology — do not 'fix' it by capturing the neighbor's SSID.
Command guide
Try these commands — Your AP means you control the BSSID
═══ TOOLS & WEBSITES ═══ Browse / read these (authorized learning only — stay in YOUR lab / program scope)
aircrack-ng — https://www.aircrack-ng.org/ (suite overview — YOUR lab only) Wi-Fi Alliance security — https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/security
═══ INSTALL ═══
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
Command — copy this
sudo apt install iw sudo apt install network-manager
macOS: Prefer Linux lab VM for iw Use airport / System Settings
Windows: Use Kali VM / WSL with iw Use netsh wlan (built-in)
═══ LINUX / macOS ═══
Command — copy this
iw phy 2>/dev/null | grep -E 'Wiphy|Supported interface modes' | head -6 || nmcli device wifi list 2>/dev/null | head -5 nmcli radio wifi 2>/dev/null || echo 'Use YOUR USB adapter in lab VM when possible'
Primary tools to practice this lesson: iw, nmcli. Reference sites: aircrack-ng (https://www.aircrack-ng.org/); Wi-Fi Alliance security (https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/security). Run every command in the box — install first, then the usage lines — only on YOUR lab / program scope.
2. Disposable lab, real consequences elsewhere
Reset the lab AP between exercises. A lab radio is cattle: rekey, revert config, continue literacy.
Deauth or evil-twin play on production or public SSIDs is out of scope forever in Cyberlium wireless modules.
3. Defender mirror
Blue teams segment guest Wi-Fi and log rogue APs the same way: know your BSSIDs, alert on clones, never trust open air. Your lab is a miniature of that discipline.
Ship one line: SSID=$LAB_SSID, iface=$LAB_IFACE, never=neighbor/café/public clones.
4. What you ship: lab radio boundary rule
Document $LAB_SSID AP you control. Refuse neighbor/café capture. No wardriving. chmod 600 note.
5. What you record before the next lesson
Date. AP model/SSID. $LAB_SSID association test. NEVER neighbor SSIDs, café capture, public evil twins. File t15-m01-l03-lab-radio-only.txt chmod 600.
6. Wrong vs right: stranger SSIDs vs YOUR lab AP
Worked failure — same MSF word, opposite target. Right never needs a café Wi-Fi or classmate laptop.
Wrong
Capture every SSID on channel 6 'for practice.' Deauth the café AP because your lab client is slow.
Right
Write lab AP rule and $LAB_SSID. Next: RoE Lab.
Mission: prove lab radio isolation before tools
1) Document your lab AP SSID ($LAB_SSID) and channel. 2) Record $LAB_IFACE as your adapter placeholder. 3) Association test to $LAB_SSID only — not neighbor BSSIDs. Never wardrive for targets.
Stuck? Ask Cyberlium AI Mentor
If $LAB_SSID is unreachable, ask Mentor about AP setup — not how to capture the dorm.
Knowledge Check
APPLY: Best target SSID for wireless labs in this course:
Multiple choice
Knowledge Check
APPLY: True or False: Wardriving visible SSIDs is acceptable wireless prep when bored.
True or False
Knowledge Check
APPLY: $LAB_SSID in Cyberlium means:
Multiple choice