hiding wifi ssid?

[danx55]

hi all

as I understand it one of best ways of securing wifi Is to hide the ssid.
but when I try this my devices obviously can't connect to the network. even though they have connected before so should remember the network.

anyone else tried/managed to do this or is it not worth it?

have altered the default admin password on router

cheers
dan

 

[sjleworthy]

my ssid is always hidden. there might be a reason in your router settings why your ipad cant automatically reconnect. mine does.

 

[danx55]

hi
actually the iPad was ok this time as I hid the ssid while using the pad. but my phone and pc wouldn't connect. possibly the wrong forum for this but I do have a pad2 honest

cheers
dan

....I suspect if the pad lost connection for some reason it would then not connect again ?

 

[jmorton10]

turning off the ssid broadcast gives a very false sense of security.

Anybody with even a rudimentary knowledge of networking will not be even mildly inconvenienced by a "hidden ssid". I won't post the info here, but I could get around that problem in literally seconds.

 

[danx55]

bummer - but thanks for the info - any other suggestions? apart from never turning it on obviously

cheers

 

[jmorton10]

Mac address filtering will make it more secure, although a good bit less convenient.

It is hard to make wireless totally secure, but we do the best we can...........

 

[danx55]

ah right - so you mean manually add mac for each device?

 

[jmorton10]

Yes

 

[chevyguy]

Hide the SSID and use WPA or WPA2. this will help secure your network. As has been said, nothing is 100%, but this will surely help. Do not use WEP, as it is old and very easy to get around, for those who want into your system.

 

[danx55]

cool thanks - yes im using wpa2

hiding the ssid seems tricky though, as generally devices seem to need it to connect even when it is their default network etc

cheers
dan

 

[jmorton10]

There is really nothing tricky about hiding the ssid and it only keeps a person who is computer illiterate out.

I have a port scanner that will find any hidden ID in about 2 seconds and I'm honest.

I guaranty you anybody wanting to break into your network will be using the same thing (or something far better)

 

[danx55]

ok thanks for info - will just leave it turned off
cheers
dan