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A comment on What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network. Parent comment

Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by RexRollman on Saturday October 18, 2014 @05:35PM (#8476406)
What's the point of that? To speed up reconnection?
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Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by keeperofdakeys on Saturday October 18, 2014 @10:11PM (#8477019)
It also allows APs to be "hidden", by not broadcasting its own SSID, but relying on devices to send out a probe to ask if it's there. Of course, it's not hidden from packet sniffers if it's talking to someone.
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Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by xorcist on Sunday October 19, 2014 @03:26AM (#8477522)
That might just be the most stupid misfeature in the history of IT.

Not only is a "hidden" AP not really hidden at all, it makes a lot of functionality much more difficult, such as channel choosing and reconnect.

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Re:What we give away when we log on to a public Wi-Fi network by victorvation on Saturday October 18, 2014 @05:50PM (#8476447)
Yes, and also so that you can go between two access points for the same network without having to reconnect.
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