Network name ssid how to find out android. What is SSID and why is it needed in WiFi networks. Methods for advanced users

I have one good comrade, which is not exactly a teapot - he set up his home wired network himself. But with wireless it just didn’t work out that way. It would seem, what is the difference?! Everything is the same, only in one case everything is organized using a cable, and in the other - via a radio channel. In fact, there is a significant difference. He stumbled on the simplest thing - he didn’t understand what an SSID was and why use it. I think that not only my friend is asking this question, and the very basics of organizing a Wi-Fi network are of interest to many users. Both beginners and more or less experienced ones.
Therefore, in this post I want to tell you more about the name wireless network SSID - what it is, why it is needed and how it is used.

Unlike cable networks, where the connection is made directly through physical connection and it all depends directly on what cable you connect to network card, in wireless the client sees all available networks in range. Imagine that there are several WiFi access points operating near you at once - how do you choose the right one from them, that is, the one you need to connect to?! This is where the Network Name comes to your aid - SSID, which stands for Service Set Identifier. This identifier allows you to highlight each Wi-Fi network by assigning it the desired name.

The SSID is an alphanumeric unique identifier with a maximum length of 32 characters. It is attached to the header of packets sent over the wireless local network WLAN. Under normal conditions, a WiFi access point broadcasts the identifier in a broadcast format and everyone who has an adapter turned on nearby can see it without any problems.

The access point transmits its network identifier using special beacon signaling packets at a speed of 0.1 Mbit/s periodically every 100 ms. By the way, this is why 0.1 Mbit/s is the lowest data transfer speed for Wi-Fi.

On the client side, the SSID plays the role of a login when the client connects to point-to-multipoint (BSS) mode, which the mobile device transmits when trying to connect. It is an integral component of WLAN. Only by knowing the network SSID can the client find out whether a connection to a given access point is possible. And the password is already set separately in the settings of the router or access point. Accordingly, there should not be two identical identifiers in the same range, otherwise they will not be able to work normally and will significantly complicate each other’s existence.

In terms of security level, the SSID network identifier can hardly be called secure. Even if it is hidden in the access point settings and is not broadcast in broadcast format, an attacker can still “catch” it without much difficulty using a specialized software to analyze traffic transmitted over the air.

How to find out the SSID on a router or access point

Let's look at a typical situation. There are several wireless networks and you need to find out which one is broadcast from a specific WiFi router that has access to physical access. In this case, everything is done as follows. We connect from a computer or laptop to this device using network cable LAN We go to the configuration web interface using the router’s IP address - or (You can find this out on the sticker that is glued to the device’s body). The login and password for logging in are usually indicated there.

After authorization, go to the WiFi or Wireless section and find the “Basic Settings” subsection. There will be a line in it SSID or Network name(in some cases "Network Name"). In it you can find the Wi-Fi network identifier that is broadcast wireless module router.

How to hide the SSID of a wireless network

As I said above, many network security experts strongly advise, for reliability, to be sure to enable the option that allows you to hide the SSID of the Wi-Fi distributed by the router. It's not difficult to do this. Again through the router’s web interface in basic settings WiFi, find the “Hide wireless network” checkbox and check it. In some models, such as on a TP-Link router, on the contrary, you need to uncheck “Enable SSID broadcasting”:

In both cases, the meaning will be the same - the access point will stop broadcasting the network name (SSID identifier). But now it will not be visible to clients and in order to connect, the client will have to manually specify the identifier.

Most of those who have at least once connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi have been faced with the need to search for a specific access point. This means that one way or another he was forced to find out what the SSID of the Wi-Fi router is called.

Identifiers

Whatever one may say, each piece of almost any type of equipment, be it hardware or software emulated, has its own identifiers. Of course, for different types equipment they have different standard.

The hardware specifically responsible for the wireless connection even has several of these. Depending on the complexity of assembling a given module and the set of its functions, it may use one or more such recognition codes. If the circuit is very complex, then such a pointer is available on each of its component parts. There is also one common one, called a MAC address, by which such a module can be recognized, even if the IP addresses match.

And this is in addition to the fact that the modules themselves create at least one additional code, which is called SSID. This acronym stands for Service Set Identifier. Literally this is translated as “service configuration identifier”, but in fact in Russian it is simply called “network identifier”.

In most cases, it is set by the administrator himself when setting up and debugging a wireless network. Although there are options for automatic assignment. And it’s very rare, but it happens that it is not possible to change it, but this kind of equipment is not found on the civilian market, and therefore it makes no sense to discuss it. A code is needed so that users can distinguish one access point from another and connect to the one they need without wasting time guessing.

For proper, high-quality, and most importantly, efficient cooperation of all elements of the network, it is required that this parameter coincide on all its components. By default, the SSID is limited to a set of characters of 32 units. At the same time, depending on the specific equipment and firmware, it can support the content of almost any letters from existing languages, hieroglyphs or special characters.

SSID identification

There are several methods to determine the name of a network. They should be considered inextricably with situations in which such a need may arise.

Below we will describe several examples of such situations and give specific advice on how to get out of the situation quickly and without particularly difficult actions.

Purchasing a Wi-Fi router from a provider

In some cases, when purchasing such equipment from an Internet provider, a basic set of parameters is already included in the device’s firmware, which is used specifically by this service provider. And sometimes it even happens that a Wi-Fi access point is already, in principle, configured for a specific customer and his personal data is entered there.

In such a situation, a sticker is affixed to the internal documentation of the device, which indicates the “SSID” and “Encryption Key”. The necessary information will be contained opposite the above-mentioned columns. All you need to do when you get home is to install the gadget in the right place, then insert the Internet cable into the connector labeled “WAN” on the back of the router and only then connect it to the power supply.

Now we start the personal computer and in the notification area, which is also known as the tray, we find the network connection icon.

We left-click on it and look for the name indicated on the sticker in the “Wireless Network Connection” tab.

As soon as such a position is found, you need to click on it with the mouse and click the “Connect” button.

After a short period of time, the system will request a key, after entering it correctly, you need to click “OK” and you can start using the provided Internet access.

Unknown SSID

If it so happens that you have a configured and working Wi-Fi router, but the name of the distributed network is unknown, and a laptop or PC finds a lot of them and the level of its signals is approximately equal, then you can determine it as follows:

1. Take any device with Wi-Fi enabled and stand about 5-6 meters from the access point, regardless of whether it is visible or not.
2. Now look at the signal strength of all available networks. It should be at the level of 3-4 bars out of 5.
3. Now move close to the Wi-Fi transmitter and look at the signal now. One signal has become the strongest - this is the desired network.

Hidden network

When you have a working router, but the network is not clearly displayed, there is still a way to find out the SSID. What you need is a laptop or some other device with an Ethernet port and a connecting cable with RJ (Registered Jack) 45-interfaces at the ends. Once everything you need has been collected, you will need to do the following:

1. We connect the laptop to the router using the above-mentioned RJ45 cable.
2. After access to the network is obtained, open the browser and connect to the access point. This is done by entering address bar Device IP addresses. You can find it in the documentation for the device. In addition to the entry point, the login and password will also be indicated there. Often, each company tries to use its own addresses, logins and passwords, but on older devices, and even on some new ones, the following data is used:
   1. Entry point – 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1.
   2. Login – “Admin” or missing.
   3. The password is a space, “Admin”, or none at all.
   4. Entering a captcha or information from a picture.
3. Depending on the router brand, its model and firmware version, the rest may and will differ from what is presented here. On most modern models, the SSID, as well as other related information, is displayed on home page. But in older models or firmware versions you need to go to the “Status” or “Status” section, where absolutely all information on setup and operation will be presented of this device, including SSID. Sometimes there is no such section in the router. In this case, you need to go to the section “ Wi-Fi setup" Here you can find out the name of the network, as well as the password for it. Moreover, here you can change this data.

With the advent of wireless technologies for creating and connecting to virtual networks, many users are faced with the concept of a network SSID. Not everyone knows what this is. In the meantime, there is nothing complicated in understanding this term. Below we will discuss what the SSID of a WiFi network is, and also show how you can find out this parameter and change it.

SSID networks: what is it?

So, from the point of view computer technology each wireless network must be detected when trying to connect somehow in a simple way. For this purpose, the concept of the network SSID parameter was introduced. What is it? In its broadest sense, an SSID is a unique identifier for a network that distinguishes it from all others; in other words, it is the name or name of the VPN.

Thus, when trying to search for a network and connect to it, the user does not need to rummage through any digital data or identify a possible access point. It is enough to know the network name (SSID) and password to access it.

What is the WiFi network SSID and how to change this setting

Typically, the value of the network identifier (name) is set initially when creating a wireless connection. Basic settings are made on By default, this may be the model number or brand of equipment, but for the convenience of identifying the network, a custom name is specified.

This is done in the settings section of the router, which is responsible for the wireless connection. To set a name or change it, just find an item like Wireless Network Name or SSID, where you indicate the desired name. If the user wants to avoid security problems, it is better not to use some personal data for this parameter, which may attract unnecessary attention.

Tools for viewing available networks

Now networks. To do this, when the Wi-Fi adapter is turned on, pay attention to the wireless connection icon in the system tray.

Left clicking on it brings up a pop-up window in which all available networks will be displayed.

To check network activity, use the ncpa.cpl command, which is entered in the Run console, and then look at the connection status. If it is inactive, you need to select the enable option from the right-click menu. You can also see all connections in the network management section, where you select the option to change adapter properties. Wi-Fi module it is turned on either by special buttons on the laptop panel, or by combining the Fn key with some other key (usually these are the function buttons F1-F12, but there may be exceptions).

With mobile devices it’s even easier. Just turn on the connection, and then select from the list the desired network, and then enter the access password, if provided.

An advanced user can extract more information using sniffers. With their help, you can view the router's MAC address, see hidden networks, find out information about the communication channel, signal strength, number of currently connected subscribers, etc.

How to hide the network SSID?

In connection with the above, let's look at one more situation in relation to the network SSID. What this is is already clear. Now a few words about how you can hide the name of a network so that it does not appear in the list of available connections.

The easiest way to do this is to find a special item with a line to hide the SSID (Hide SSID or something like that). If you later need to connect to a hidden network, you should create a new connection in the wireless network management section and create a profile manually. After this, you will need to enter the network SSID, set the security and encryption types, and also use the security key (password) that was specified in the router settings at the initial stage of creating the connection or when changing the settings.

Multi-SSID

In principle, for any connection you can create several access points with their own names and parameters. The essence of this process is that in this way the connection speed can be divided among several groups of users. For example, such settings will be relevant if one network is required for the personal use of the head of the enterprise, the second - for staff, and the third - for public access.

You can set such parameters on the same router, but use the corresponding Multi-SSID section for this, where the values ​​of point names, passwords and many other parameters are set.

Conclusion

It remains to add that, in general, there is nothing complicated in understanding the definition of SSID networks. Another thing is related parameters and additional settings. But it is unlikely that the average user will do such things. Typically, more knowledge is required in this area system administrators or employees of provider companies providing Internet access services.

In this article I will tell you how to find out the SSID of a hidden access point. This is not a difficult question and a few lines of description would be enough. But in my opinion it is better to describe once how this is done. Why write the same thing a hundred times in the comments (it hurts).

Scientifically it is called -. “Hiding” the SSID of the access point is part of the basic security mechanisms of the 802.11 standard. Such mechanisms include:

• limitation of radio signal propagation area
• access control lists based on MAC address lists
• disable network ID broadcast
• changing default settings
• access point protection

A detailed description of the remaining basic protection mechanisms will be described in the following articles. And now, as always, theory.

Theory – SSID Broadcast

The theory is taken from the book “ Wireless Security“. It seems to me that this will be correct. How to write a gag. Moreover, the authors of this book are S.V. Gordeychik And V.V. Dubrovin. Which need no introduction - everyone already knows them.

In service frames Beacon And Probe Response the access point sends the network ID and other service data. It is this information that is displayed by standard utilities for connecting to a wireless network and numerous “stamblers”. The standard provides and most access points implement the ability to disable SSID broadcasting. This mode is usually called “ Disable SSID Broadcast" or " No Guest Mode“. This will cause the SSID field in the Beacon and Probe Response frames to be an empty string.

Such networks will not be displayed in utilities such as Netstambler and will not be visible in the list of available networks of a standard wireless client. As a result, you may feel that this will help hide the network from an attacker who does not know its SSID.

But the task of searching for a network by its identifier remains unsolved, and since it is not implemented by the access point, it is taken over by wireless network stations. To do this, clients send in Probe Requests the network identifiers specified in the connection profile. If the access point responds to such a frame, then its SSID matches the value specified in the request, and you can begin the connection procedure.

As a result, an attacker listening to the network in monitoring mode is able to find out the network identifier. There are a large number of utilities that work on this principle, for example, the popular Kismet wireless network analyzer.

With their help, it is quite easy to find out the identifier of a “hidden” network if clients work with it. In addition, this logic of the station’s operation leads to the disclosure of profile settings wireless connections client, since it is forced to broadcast the SSID from configured stations.

Thus, stopping the broadcast of a network identifier is not a serious means of protection, except that it may reduce the number of attacks detected by the attack detection system associated with attempts to connect by completely inept “hackers”. However, since most wireless clients broadcast the network SSID in connection requests regardless of the access point type, it may make sense to use this feature.

Practice

We got acquainted with the theory. Let's derive from it the main condition for our practice - a client must be connected to the AP! If there are no clients, then it will not be possible to find out the SSID of the “hidden” access point.

So, let's load into BackTrack 5 R2. Open the console. We switch the Wi-Fi client to monitor mode:

We see that one client with a MAC address is connected to the access point ( 70:F1:A1:72:B4:25). So everything should work out for us. Now open a new terminal window ( Ctrl+Shift+N).

Here we must send a deauthentication packet to the client, on behalf of the access point (AP). This is done with the following command:

• -0 – deauthentication
• 1 – number of packets
• -a– MAC address of the access point
• -c– MAC address of the client to which deauthentication applies

After that in first The following picture should be observed in the terminal window.

In this material we will talk about such a phenomenon as SSID. What is it, how to recognize it and for what purposes is this concept used - we will answer all these questions further. Today, compact devices such as smartphones and laptops are used to access the Internet. The number of cables used to organize data transmission is continuously decreasing.

Principle of operation

Let's move on to consider the question of how to find out the WiFi network name (SSID). Obviously, this phenomenon is associated with wireless technologies data transmission. Let's start with the fact that modern Wi-Fi routers are universal. They are capable of using a radio frequency network to transmit data. The latter has a specific name. This is what is called SSID.

Thanks to this decision it is possible to make a single network unique. This makes searching and connecting directly easier. IN in some cases The question of how to find out the WiFi SSID becomes especially relevant when setting up a router. This parameter is required when connecting new equipment.

Windows

Now we will take a closer look at how to find out the WiFi SSID. First of all, you should make sure that your personal computer has an adapter that allows you to connect to the wireless Internet. Even if its presence is known in advance, we will still check whether it is enabled this element. For these purposes, Windows provides two methods at once.

In the first case we use the combination Windows keys+ R. A special window appears. In it we enter the command ncpa.cpl. As a result, " Network connections" All network adapters are displayed here. To solve the question of how to find out the WiFi SSID, we need to find wireless Internet. If it is disabled, activate this element. To do this, click right button mice. Use the “Enable” item.

The next step is to view all existing SSIDs in the area from personal computer. To do this, left-click on the Wi-Fi icon. It is located on the lower left side, not far from the clock. As a result, a list of all access points that you can connect to will appear.

Android

Now we will briefly look at how to find out the WiFi SSID on mobile devices. Communication modules are found in almost all such devices. So, to get necessary information go to the “Main Menu”. Find the “Settings” icon. Go to the Wi-Fi section. In the window that appears, enable the adapter. There is a corresponding switch at the top. After switching on, after a few seconds, all points with the names we need are displayed. You can connect to them.

Finally, a few useful tips. To find out detailed information about the wireless network we are interested in, you can use specialized programs. They are called sniffers. Such tools allow you to find out the name of the network, find hidden connections, and see the MAC address of the router. Such applications are distributed both on a paid and free basis. Each solution of this type works according to a single algorithm. Only the list of additional functions and the procedure for calculating data differ. The tool scans the workspace, detects hidden networks and collects information.