Wireless Security

WiFi Pineapple Clone

A WiFi Pineapple is a dedicated wireless auditing platform — rogue APs, deauth attacks, client tracking. The official hardware is expensive, so I flashed a GL.iNet GL-AR750 travel router using the open-source wifi-pineapple-cloner project. Same functionality, way cheaper.

Hardware & Setup

GL-AR750 hardware GL-AR750 hardware

GL.iNet GL-AR750

Dual-band travel router running OpenWrt. Compact, portable, and fully supported by the wifi-pineapple-cloner project.

wifi-pineapple-cloner

Open-source project by xchwarze that automates flashing GL.iNet hardware with WiFi Pineapple-compatible firmware.

Firmware

Custom OpenWrt-based build with Pineapple modules installed. Configured via the standard Pineapple web interface on the device.

Capabilities

Rogue AP creation, deauthentication, client tracking, and PineAP suite for wireless reconnaissance and auditing.

Attack Surface

Once you control the AP a device connects to, you control the connection.

Evil Twin / Rogue AP

Broadcast a fake AP with the same SSID as a legitimate network. Clients automatically connect — their traffic flows through you before hitting the internet.

MITM on Wireless Traffic

Once a client is connected to your rogue AP, intercept all unencrypted traffic. Capture credentials, session tokens, and anything sent over HTTP.

Deauthentication Attacks

Kick devices off a legitimate network by sending deauth frames. Force them to reconnect — to your AP. No encryption, no password needed to do this.

WPA Handshake Capture

Deauth a client, capture the 4-way handshake when it reconnects, and crack it offline with a wordlist. Works against weak passwords.

Client Tracking

PineAP passively logs probe requests from nearby devices — SSIDs their devices are looking for, MAC addresses, signal strength. Full picture of wireless activity in range.

DNS Spoofing

Redirect DNS queries from connected clients to malicious pages — credential phishing, fake captive portals, or straight redirects to attacker-controlled infrastructure.

What I Learned

I didn’t realize how easy it is to flash Pineapple-compatible firmware onto certain travel routers instead of buying actual Hak5 hardware. The GL-AR750 cost me a fraction of the price and does the same thing. What got me was how accessible this all is — the hardware is cheap, the software is open source, and the attacks work anywhere there’s WiFi. Makes you wonder how many of these are already deployed in airports, coffee shops, and hotels.

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