PresenceChecker

A WiFi packet sniffer and presence detection tool for Linux. Captures wireless traffic in monitor mode, detects nearby devices by MAC address and signal strength, and exports data to XML logs for later analysis.

Features

• Real-time device detection via WiFi packet sniffing in monitor mode
• Automatic channel hopping across channels 1-13 for full coverage
• Live terminal UI showing detected MAC addresses and signal strength (dBm)
• Configurable ignore list to filter out known access points or devices
• XML export of captured data with timestamps (every 5 seconds)
• Signal analysis tool (Analyzer.py) with matplotlib graphs and MAC vendor lookup

Usage

Capture

python PresenceChecker.py -i wlan0mon

Flag	Description
-i / --interface	Monitor mode interface (required)
-o / --outfolder	Output folder (default: ~/PresenceCheckerLOG/)
-il / --ignorelist	XML file with MAC addresses to ignore
-pl / --printline	Number of lines to display (default: 10)
-am / --automonitor	Auto enable/disable monitor mode

Analyze

python Analyzer.py -d ~/PresenceCheckerLOG/ -m 00:11:22:33:44:55

Generates a signal strength vs. time graph for the given MAC address, with vendor name lookup via macvendors.co API.

Project structure

PresenceChecker/
├── PresenceChecker.py   # Main sniffer with multi-threaded capture and UI
├── Analyzer.py          # Signal analysis and graph generation
├── ignore.xml           # MAC addresses to exclude from capture
└── Relazione.pdf        # Project report

Dependencies

• Python 2
• pcapy - packet capture
• impacket - frame decoding (RadioTap, Dot11)
• reprint - dynamic terminal output
• matplotlib - graph generation
• requests - MAC vendor API calls
• A Linux wireless adapter in monitor mode

License

Apache License 2.0 - see LICENSE for details.