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Status:
New Idea
WBE758 onboarding Engage - Give us the ability to hide/not broadcast SSIDs
Went to go onboard a WBE758 to Netgear Engage, everything went great until I ran into the fact that there is no way to turn off "Broadcast SSID" or "Hide SSID". When you go to the web GUI for that AP...
Useless feature, the "hidden" or *disables" SSID broadcast does not -add- any security. In fact its making the security even worse. On one hand, any wireless client with configured to associate to that SSID will shout out the name loud to the air - matter of fact to -any- Wi-Fi with the magic hidden SSID. On the other hand, each wireless connection established and active will shout out that hidden SSID with every wireless frame exchanged.
The only "advantage" there is it might shorten the list of wireless SSIDs obviously visible to every end user.
Rarely referring to Apple, but here I do: https://support.apple.com/en-us/102766 -> Hidden Network
A router can be configured to hide its network name (SSID). Your router might incorrectly use “closed” to mean hidden, and “broadcast” to mean not hidden.
Hiding the network name doesn't conceal the network from detection or secure it against unauthorized access. And because of how devices search for and connect to Wi-Fi networks, using a hidden network might expose information that can be used to identify you and the hidden networks you use, such as your home network. When connected to a hidden network, your device might show a privacy warning because of this privacy risk.
To secure access to your network, use the appropriate security setting instead.
Amazing this nonsense of "not broadcasting" the SSID is still in the heads of some users "out of sight, out of mind" - after decades these standards were set....
Security by obscurity, but much worse.