Wireless SSID'*.

How many of you keep your SSID on your wireless router hidden? Yep I do.

Found this article pretty interesting.

Some of it I already knew, but some I didn't even know about....

SSID

No use to keep it hidden. I don't even have to follow the link to know that'* probably what its about. Using Backtrack you can discover all SSIDs around you in seconds

Brian, I REALLY don't want to know what you do in your free time

Hey all of the stuff I do with Backtrack I do at home and is merely for proof of concept and a little fun. I'm not going to be sitting outside someone'* house trying to crack their network lol.

That is a HUGE file!

Why the heck is it so big?

what file?

i have MAC filtering multiple levels of passwords... i feel somewhat safe.

Backtrack is not a file, its an operating system preloaded with penetration testing tools.

I do not completely agree with this article. Aerodump and Kismet can find hidden SSID'* given there is wireless traffic, but if it is late at night and you have no wireless traffic, they will not find your SSID. This means the only way to gain access to the network would be to brute force the SSID, which in a sense does make it a password. Also, most "hackers" have no idea how to use these utilities and will float right by your network with the SSID hidden.

If you are going for total security, hiding the SSID is just another obstacle that has to be overcome by someone trying to get in. MAC address filtering is also a good practice for those that need the most secure network possible.

Honestly though, turning off the SSID and using MAC filtering is more of a pain in the butt that it is worth for 99% of people. All new routers support WPA2 and all it takes is a few clicks to activate it. For the love of gawd, turn it on! If someone has the time and knowledge to get through WPA2, everything else is only going to be a minor delay on their path into your network.