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I created my linksys wlan, I changed the ssid name and disable the ssid broadcast. Now my laptop can't see the ssid anymore, so how does my my laptop able to get to my network?

Hi: The IEEE 802.11 standard has no answer to this question because it has no provision for hiding the SSID. In my opinion this is a silly procedure adopted by many vendors in the days of WEP shame and anguish. Although some vendors, like Cisco, have built major procedures around hiding the SSID, I personally recommend avoiding the practice if at all possible. Many disagree with me.

Ok, ok, the answer is: you have to provide the ssid for the client by typing it into the client configuration.

I hope this helps. Thanks. /criss

The standard says that an AP must answer a probe request frame (called active scanning) under 2 conditions.

1) the client's probe request has a null (blank) SSID field

2) the client's probe request has the SSID in use by the AP.

There is no provision in the standard for SSID hiding, nor is there a provision for disabling probe responses on the AP when the probe request carries a null SSID value, but vendors typically give you both features. Sometimes the removal of the SSID from beacons actually does both within a single vendor feature.

The remedy to your problem is to make sure the client has the correct ssid so that the AP will respond to probe requests. Ordinary protocol analyzers will still be able to capture the SSID in a number of management frames.

Devinator