Wireless routers have a setting that allows you to choose whether or not you broadcast your router's SSID (name). Many people will tell you that this setting does not matter. If you are trying to prevent a serious hacker from getting into your network, they are correct. This will do nothing to stop a determined hacker. However, it does provide an added layer of security if you are trying to prevent a random passerby from connecting to your router. If you do not broadcast your SSID, it will not show up in the list of available wireless networks on the user's computer. Anyone wanting to connect to your network will have to type in the name of your network before they can make a connection.

There are plenty of ways to find a network even without its SSID, but a casual user will not attempt it. This is another reason to change your SSID from the default. I have logged onto plenty of networks named "Linksys" when I saw no SSIDs being broadcast just by trying it to see if one was out there.

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