Tool to scan for WLANs

Question

The wifi radio space is crowded, so scanning which channel(s) are the least crowded is advisable.

What is a good tool to do this task? It should

• List all nearby AP's with radio channel, SSID, MAC Adress and encryption type
• Scan both 2.4Ghz (802.11b/g/n) and 5Ghz(802.11a/n) frequencies
• Be compatible with Windows 7 and 8
• Be free or very cheap

Answer 1

WifiInfoView is another usual wifi scanner on Windows:

It does

• List all nearby AP's with radio channel, SSID, MAC Adress and encryption type
• Scan both 2.4Ghz (802.11b/g/n) and 5Ghz(802.11a/n) frequencies
• Be compatible with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2008. Both 32-bit and x64 systems are supported.
• Be free (and portable)

And it's NirSoft quality.

Answer 2

inSSIDer is a wifi scanner on Windows and Mac.

It does

• Cost $20
• List all nearby AP's with radio channel, SSID, MAC Adress and encryption type
• Scan both 2.4Ghz (802.11b/g/n) and 5Ghz(802.11a/n) frequencies
• Be compatible with Windows 7, Windows 8, and Mac.