On 9/25/2012 9:06 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 09/24/12 08:55 pm, zzzzzzzzzz wrote:

I was walking on a walk track furnished by the local hospital. Part
of the track goes behind some Apartment building.

There were a list of wifi passwords. One of them was "neighbors suck"

Actually those weren't passwords but rather were the names of the
residents' networks-- SSIDs if you're a technical sort.

Why do people broadcast their SSIDs?

So my laptop can find the router automatically when I get home.

My laptop knows both my SSID and my password: it connects automatically.

If I know who you are and think
that you have a legitimate need to access my network via WiFi, I'll tell
you what the SSID is -- or I'll enter the information on your computer
for you.

Why bother hiding it?

Because if nobody knows my WiFi network exists, how are they going to
try breaking into it?

Perce

The don't broadcast your SSID idea is just nonsense that keeps on
showing up in the various "computer expert" articles who are paid by the
word.

It certainly doesn't make your network invisible and just causes issues
for nearby wireless users.