The Netagotchi, "Pwnagotchi's Older Brother," Sits on Your Desk and Protects Your Network

Designed to protect, rather than crack, Wi-Fi networks, the Netagotchi monitors for new devices and alerts on port scans.

Gareth Halfacree
3 months agoSecurity / Communication

Maker Marco G. has taken the "pwnagotchi" concept and flipped it on its head, creating a 3D-printed buddy who will alert you to suspicious activity on your network: the Netagotchi.

"Netgotchi is pwnagotchi's older brother, more conscientious: instead of pwning networks, it may protect yours," Marco explains of his creation, which is inspired by the pwnagotchi — itself inspired by the classic Tamagotchi electronic pet, only being "fed" through introduction to sniffable Wi-Fi networks. "Tested with nmap, [a] service scan [or] intense scan will trigger the alert."

The Netagotchi flips the pwnagotchi experience on its head, protecting rather than passively attacking networks. (📹: Marco G.)

The heart of the Netagotchi is the popular low-cost Espressif ESP8266 microcontroller, connected to an SSD1306-based OLED display. This is housed in a 3D-printed shell that turns the display into the Netagotchi's "face" — while a USB cable around the back delivers power.

Connect the Netagotchi to your Wi-Fi network and it will scan the network itself, popping up an alert when it finds a device it hasn't previously spotted. What Marco describes as "rudimental [sic] 'honeypot' functionality" extends its capabilities further, triggering an alarm if the Netagotchi itself is scanned for exposed services.

The source code for the Netagotchi has been published to GitHub under the reciprocal GNU General Public License 3; assembled units are available to buy on Etsy for €44.99 (around $49) excluding taxes and shipping.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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