My Journey in Wireless Networking: From Foundations to Expertise

In the world of wireless network security, hiding your SSID might seem like an easy way to protect your WiFi network from unauthorized access. This approach of hiding an SSID provides a little more than a false sense of security. In my recent experience of debugging an issue with where random users could see these Hidden SSID’s, lead me to write a blog about why I personally believe it is not a great approach and I am open to opinions. Let’s explore how Hidden SSIDs Works and understand with a real world example!  When you configure your Access Points to hide the SSID/WLAN, you are essentially telling it to stop broadcasting the SSID name in the beacon frames. Under normal circumstances, An AP would periodically broadcast beacon frames containing, SSID Name, Channel, Security Capabilities etc. that helps a STA to choose among the broadcast SSID and associate to it. With Hidden SSID enabled, the AP continues to broadcast beacon frames but removes the network/SSID filed for the resp...

Beacon  Beacon is a management frame in the 802.11 wireless networking. It is periodically transmitted by an Access Point (AP) and serves as the first information a client device receives when looking to connect to a wireless network. Beacons help client devices understand available networks, synchronize with the AP, and make initial connection decisions. Importance of Beacons in Wireless Communication From a client device's perspective, the beacon frame services many purposes which is not just limited to initial connection. It helps client devices in following ways:   Identify the Wireless Network : It provides essential information about available networks, allowing the client to recognize which networks are within range. Time Synchronization: Beacons help synchronize the timing between the AP and client devices, which is crucial for efficient communication. Supports Roaming: Beacons allows roaming clients to discover new APs and assess when to transition from one AP to ano...