Disabling Ssid Broadcasting - THOMSON Gateway Configuration Manual

Chapter 3
Security
3.1

Disabling SSID Broadcasting

What does this mean?
APs broadcast their SSID to announce themselves to the wireless stations and other APs. When a station
wants to access a WLAN, it can see a list of all available APs. This implies that any station within the range of
an AP can join an AP and thus its WLAN. By disabling the SSID broadcasting, it is more difficult to identify an
AP and access its WLAN. A station will have to enter the SSID manually to access a certain WLAN.
When the SSID is not broadcast, the WLAN is often referred to as a Closed Network.
Low security level
Disabling SSID broadcasting can be regarded as an authentication mechanism. This was the first method to
secure a WLAN, because you have to know the SSID in order to access the WLAN. Although this method
offers a very low level of security, it is possible to disable the SSID broadcast option (SSID broadcasting is by
default enabled by most vendors).
How to disable SSID broadcasting?
To disable the SSID broadcast on your Thomson Gateway, see
devices or " Network name broadcast" on page 71
E-DOC-CTC-20060609-0001 v2.0
" Configure page" on page 57
for business devices.
for residential
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