Non-Broadcast Wireless SSIDs Why hidden wireless networks are a bad idea

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Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:58:17 GMT

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re: Non-Broadcast Wireless SSIDs Why hidden wireless networks are a bad idea

Dan — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:03:37 GMT

C'mon guys. If you set the security and in addition you set a non-broadcasting SSID is not making that network unsecured.

And YES i want a computer to not connect as easily to my non-broadcasting SSID. That is the idea.

I don't want the 14 years old neighbor to start meddling with it. On the other hand if that kid is smart enough to discover the SSID from my laptop advertising it, then i would grant him access anyway.

You believe so much that you are right that you can't see the others views. And imposing yours is not right.

re: Non-Broadcast Wireless SSIDs Why hidden wireless networks are a bad idea

Chris Lee — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:02:54 GMT

The analogy is completely off the wall and incorrect in every what but that is what I have to to expect from the low level support and software that microsoft offers. A much better description if you were to use that analogy. First of all you have to understand that anyone who is supposed to be on the network will have the correct SSID. It would not be that you take the numbers off your house and uproot the street sign, instead you would paint the numbers on your house, the mailbox, and the street sign that can only be seen with super magic, non microsoft compatible, glasses. Then you hand out the glasses to any supported user so that they and only they know how to get to your party.

re: Non-Broadcast Wireless SSIDs Why hidden wireless networks are a bad idea

Chris — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:09:47 GMT

Oh and as far as the broadcom adapter goes. Whether or not they decide to show unnamed networks is not the point. In fact, using non-broadcasting, you wouldnt want your network shown in any way that is the point of it non-broadcasting. Besides I am currently wireless on an HP laptop, with windows XP professional, and a broadcom wireless supplicant working perfectly fine on our non-broadcasting wireless infrastructure. Stop making excuses for windows vista, it was a terrible OS I know it, everyone else knows, just accept it microsoft. Just make windows 7 better but from the betas thusfar is seems that alot of the same problems are still there.

re: Non-Broadcast Wireless SSIDs Why hidden wireless networks are a bad idea

Shawn — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 21:28:13 GMT

One thought left out of the last paragraph the analogy in the above article is this - that the hoodlums set up a party of their own showing the house nubmer that my guests are shouting and rob them in out of public view. To put this back into the perspecive of a laptop user. I connect to unbroadcasted network xxyy - use it and then later go to the air port and turn on my laptop to see if there is a network to connect to. Not finding one that is set up as a network to connect to my laptop starts shouting to see if xxyy is available - the hacker sitting 30 feet away answers back that he is xxyy and I connect through him - thus creating a man in the middle attack.

re: Non-Broadcast Wireless SSIDs Why hidden wireless networks are a bad idea

Jeronimo — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 01:34:26 GMT

turning off the broadcast of the SSID may lead to a false sense of security. The method discourages only casual wireless snooping, but does not stop a person trying to attack the network.

It is not secure against determined crackers, because every time someone connects to the network, the SSID is transmitted in cleartext even if the wireless connection is otherwise encrypted. An eavesdropper can passively sniff the wireless traffic on that network undetected (with software like Kismet), and wait for someone to connect, revealing the SSID. Alternatively, there are faster (albeit detectable) methods where a cracker spoofs a "disassociate frame" as if it came from the wireless bridge, and sends it to one of the clients connected; the client immediately re-connects, revealing the SSID.

I add, Not revealing the ssid is a aparently a false

sense of security.