WiFi Pineapple by Hak5 is a legendary tool that at first glance resembles an ordinary router, but in reality, it is an extremely powerful platform for testing the security of wireless networks. It is designed mainly for penetration testers, network administrators, and security enthusiasts who want to analyze, monitor, or even "lure" clients into fake networks and test their resilience to attacks. The latest generation, Mark VII, takes the possibilities even further—it offers an intuitive web interface, a large library of modules, and the option of remote management via the cloud.
The basic principle of WiFi Pineapple is simple: it creates its own wireless networks (including “rogue” or “evil twin” APs) that nearby devices can connect to. It can thoroughly analyze the surrounding WiFi traffic, collect information about clients, capture handshakes, filter devices by MAC addresses or SSIDs, and automate a whole range of attacks—for example, WiFi phishing, DNS spoofing, MITM attacks, or stealing login credentials via fake portals. The PineAP engine enables efficient collection of SSIDs and "beacons" and, through a rich module library, allows you to extend functionality as needed.
Device management is easy—once connected to a computer via USB-C or ethernet, WiFi Pineapple can be controlled through a modern web interface, where you'll find a dashboard, detailed client monitoring, the ability to launch "campaigns" (automated attack scenarios), AP configuration, module and package management, and even a built-in Bash terminal. You can also connect through an open WiFi network or remotely via Cloud C².
An advantage of the Pineapple is the ability to create your own modules in Python and Bash scripts, and to extending it according to current needs. The community library offers dozens of ready-made tools—from simple scanning of nearby networks, to advanced MITM attacks, to IoT device monitoring. You'll also learn the basics of WiFi protocols, frame types, MAC addresses, SSIDs, channel management, and the legal context of using such tools.
The installation and initial setup are very simple—the device downloads the latest firmware automatically once connected to the internet, and all further control is done via intuitive wizards and graphical interfaces. WiFi Pineapple also supports additional WiFi adapters, so you can monitor multiple bands at once. Detailed guides, community modules, an API for custom development, and official documentation are available at docs.hak5.org and in the GitHub repository. WiFi Pineapple by Hak5 is available here.
