Microsoft has defaulted XP to only actively scan. SOME vendor drivers will passively scan (like Symbols, who knows better than Microsoft). All wireless phones passively scan first. Why is this?
Active scanning MAY take upwards to 2 sec. Passive scanning MAY build up the AP neighbor table with NO interruption to usage. So roaming can be VERY time intensive with Active scanning, but frequently ‘painless’ with passive scanning. So in response to your point at the beginning of this missive. It is probably the case that your system is always actively PROBING for APs with your SSID. In so doing, it is announcing your SSID. Now it only does this when it needs to find an AP to ASSOCIATE with. Once ASSOCIATEd, it is just fat and happy. But if it looses signal, it PROBEs again, sending out your SSID. Thus you really cannot hide your SSID, even if you set your AP to send a NULL in the SSID field of the BEACON. IF there is no activity on your network, you are “hidden,” but if ONE station is ASSOCIATEd and transmitting, the attacker forges a DISASSOCIATE from the AP to your station. Your station then promptly starts PROBING and exposes your SSID.
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