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I think "hiding" the SSID is a particularly stupid advise. The access point will still send the beacon frames, just with an empty SSID, so the network will show

I think "hiding" the SSID is a particularly stupid advise. The access point will still send the beacon frames, just with an empty SSID, so the network will show up as "hidden network", or similar, drawing more attention. In the end, it doesn't even matter because those that know how to crack a network with a weak password will also know how to recover the SSID from the clients, which is trivial. Even worse, since the clients can't see the presence of the known network, the only way they have to connect is to continuously probe for the network (this is what reveals the SSID). Besides draining the battery faster, it's a massive privacy concern: imagine walking around with a megaphone announcing all the places you recently have been.

clwg 2y ago
For SSID's the one thing I would recommend is appending "_nomap" onto the name to opt-out of location service databases from Google, Microsoft and Apple.
- gear54rus 2y ago
  how do you know this will work at all?
  - josters 2y ago
    No other way than taking their word for it [1] > In late March 2024, Apple quietly updated its website to note that anyone can opt out of having the location of their wireless access points collected and shared by Apple — by appending “_nomap” to the end of the Wi-Fi access point’s name (SSID). Adding “_nomap” to your Wi-Fi network name also blocks Google from indexing its location. > Asked about the changes, Apple said they have respected the “_nomap” flag on SSIDs for some time, but that this was only called out in a support article earlier this year. [1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-doubles-as-an-apple-airtag/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-do...
- josters 2y ago
  „_nomap“ at the end of the SSID seems to only work for Apple and Google, Microsoft requires „optout“ to be present anywhere in the name [1]. So, the recommended opt-out change would be „SSID_optout_nomap“. [1] https://superuser.com/a/1202168 https://superuser.com/a/1202168
- rnhmjoj 2y ago
  If you have OpenWrt, or other firmware that gives you root access, you can randomize the BSSID, which is actually what they collect.

clwg 2y ago

For SSID's the one thing I would recommend is appending "_nomap" onto the name to opt-out of location service databases from Google, Microsoft and Apple.

gear54rus 2y ago
how do you know this will work at all?
- josters 2y ago
  No other way than taking their word for it [1] > In late March 2024, Apple quietly updated its website to note that anyone can opt out of having the location of their wireless access points collected and shared by Apple — by appending “_nomap” to the end of the Wi-Fi access point’s name (SSID). Adding “_nomap” to your Wi-Fi network name also blocks Google from indexing its location. > Asked about the changes, Apple said they have respected the “_nomap” flag on SSIDs for some time, but that this was only called out in a support article earlier this year. [1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-doubles-as-an-apple-airtag/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2024/05/why-your-wi-fi-router-do...
josters 2y ago
„_nomap“ at the end of the SSID seems to only work for Apple and Google, Microsoft requires „optout“ to be present anywhere in the name [1]. So, the recommended opt-out change would be „SSID_optout_nomap“. [1] https://superuser.com/a/1202168 https://superuser.com/a/1202168
rnhmjoj 2y ago
If you have OpenWrt, or other firmware that gives you root access, you can randomize the BSSID, which is actually what they collect.