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Forum Discussion

Aspirant

Apr 23, 2016

Solved

Recommendation not to change the SSID

I noticed this statement in the manual: "The default SSID is randomly generated, and NETGEAR strongly recommends that you do not change this setting." They use italics for emphasis. They don't ju...

ElaineM
May 03, 2016
BobLo The recommendation from the manual is to just allow users to easily locate or identify their own routers in case they forgot what it was.

In any case, I will forward your feedback to the documentation team for review.

Thank you and have a great day!

Master

Apr 24, 2016

No problem changing it. Main purpose is for id'ing your radio. Not much value in reinforcing security as far as I am concerned.

michaelkenward
Guru - Experienced User
Apr 24, 2016
Indeed. Netgear's advice makes no sense.

What are the benefits of sticking with the SSID it provides?

It is the password that matters.
- BobLo
  Aspirant
  Apr 24, 2016
  I think I may have it now. IIRC, the default SSID is NETGEARnn. I think they strongly want you to advertise the Netgear brand to the users of every Wi-Fi device that's close enough to see your beacons. I'm not impressed by marketing masquerading as technical advice.
  - michaelkenward
    Guru - Experienced User
    Apr 24, 2016
    BobLo wrote:
    I think I may have it now. IIRC, the default SSID is NETGEARnn. I think they strongly want you to advertise the Netgear brand to the users of every Wi-Fi device that's close enough to see your beacons. I'm not impressed.
    There's a conspiracy theory for you!
    
    My concern was that leaving the SSID unchanged might suggest to casual visitors that the user has left everything else unchanged, leaving them open to attack through other routes.
    
    We have seen reports here of people who fear that they have been hacked through the web interface of their modems.