What is an SSID?
A Service Set Identifier (SSID, or sometimes ESSID) is the “network name” of a Wireless network. Sac State Wireless Zones provide the SSID’s SacLink and SacLinkSecure*. Most wireless clients will connect to this SSID automatically. However, some wireless clients and/or configurations need to have the SSID added manually. Please see the documentation included with your wireless card for more information. * Try to avoid connecting to other SSID’s you may find. These may be peer to peer connections or rogue access points, which are not allowed on campus and may jeopardize your security if you connect to them.
SSID, (service set identifier), a configurable identification that allows clients to communicate to the appropriate base station (WAP). The SSID differentiates one WLAN from another, so all access points and all devices attempting to connect to a specific WLAN must use the same SSID. Because an SSID can be sniffed in plain text from a packet it does not supply any security to the network. Each Access Point advertises its presence several times per second by broadcasting beacon frames that carry the ESS name (SSID). Those who have installed NetStumbler on their WiFi-equipped laptops and cruised around town can relate how many SSID’s pop up, many of them announcing their location, and whether they are secured or not. SSID from a security point of view acts as a simple single shared password between base stations and clients, but this should not be considered anything other than a very basic level of security. An SSID can be easily discovered by network sniffing. With proper configuration
