The continuous announcement by a Wi-Fi access point that it is running and available. Also called "beaconing," if the network is secured with a password, users may see the SSID, but not be able to access it (see WEP and WPA).
Stop the Broadcasting
The simplest security measure is to disable SSID broadcast in the access point or router and change the default SSID name to an obscure one. In that way, only users who know the name can log in. A Wi-Fi detector can still pick up the network's presence, but will identify it as a "cloaked" network. See SSID, hotspot and cloaking.
Stop the Broadcasting
The simplest security measure is to disable SSID broadcast in the access point or router and change the default SSID name to an obscure one. In that way, only users who know the name can log in. A Wi-Fi detector can still pick up the network's presence, but will identify it as a "cloaked" network. See SSID, hotspot and cloaking.
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
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