There's a lot of free software out there to check how secure a Wi-Fi network is, but now there's a portable gadget you can build yourself to test any and all networks for very little cash.

As Tom's Hardware reports, the security developer who goes by the name mr.smashy on Twitter has created a pocket-friendly portable Wi-Fi hacking gadget anyone can build. It can be seen in the tweet below:

#RaspberryPi #infosec #CyberSecurity #Bettercap #Kali #WiFi #Linux #Aircrack Raspberry Pi Zero W WiFi Hacking Gadget https://t.co/fQEUQRxugd — mr.smashy (@THESMASHY) December 29, 2019

Building one yourself requires a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a micro SD card (32GB recommended), a micro USB cable, and a USB power bank. The total cost, assuming a 32GB card and a 5,000mAh power bank will be around $40.

The instructions for building your own portable Wi-Fi hacking device are detailed in mr.smashy's Medium post. As well as the hardware components, your Pi Zero W will need to install the latest version of Raspbian Linux with the Re4son kernel. After that, there's some tools to install including Aircrack-ng and Bettercap.

mr.smashy also recommends setting up Bluetooth to allow pairing with your smartphone, therefore unlocking mobile Wi-Fi hacking. Otherwise it can just be tethered to a laptop. Either way, if you would like to test your own network and in the process learn a lot about how Wi-Fi networks works, go spend $40 and have some fun.