Re: Does anyone respect a Wi-Fi Access Point SSID with _optout_ or _nomap anymore?

On Sun, 21 Nov 2021 20:36:15 +0100, Piet
<www.godfatherof.nl/@opt-in.invalid> wrote:

>Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>> I used to be a computer consultant and would occasionally run into
>> _nomap appended SSID's.  I've never seen _optout.  Maybe 5 routers out
>> of several hundred.  I just greped some 2 year old sniffer logs, which
>> contain about 5,000 unique SSID's, and found 15 _nomap and 0 _optout
>> entries.  Only one of my customers has ever asked to have _nomap
>> added.  He read some article on security which recommended it.  I
>> talked him out of it.
>> 
>> NOMAP is slang of a pedophile.  In the three situations where the
>> router SSID ended in _NOMAP, one of my tasks was to change it so
>> something less offensive.
>> <https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/NOMAP>
>> Whether this has anything to do with it not being used is unknown.

>Much or most slang is limited to a limited number of countries.
>And lots of words that are innocent in a language can be dirty
>or offending in other countries. I doubt if many people in the
>US or UK would take offfense to "nomap" in an SSID.

I agree as most people have never heard the term or used it.  However,
I did manage to find 3 local users, who knew the term, considered it
offensive because it might be construed as an advertisement, and
didn't know how to deal with a change in SSID.  There may have been
some association with Megan's Law but I don't recall the details:
<https://www.meganslaw.ca.gov>

>> Owners of home routers usually do not have a problem with an SSID
>> ending in _optout or _nomap.
>
>Why would they care about any "extension" in an SSID?

Difficult to type, looks strange, not sure about the meaning, etc.
Anything online that looks odd these days is usually considered to be
a potential security problem until it is explained.  Paranoia of
sorts.  However, that was not the real problem.  We have quite a few
B&B (bed and breakfast) rentals in the area.  Usually, it's a giant
weekend party or these days, a super-spreader meeting.  If only one
attendee asked about the odd looking wi-fi SSID, it probably would not
be considered a problem.  However, when the host or owner of the B&B
gets a multitude of near simultaneous requests for an explanation,
it's a problem. 

>>  However, house guests and visitors seem to have some difficulty
>> dealing with the concept and would invariably ask why it's there.
>
>Really?

Yes.  Really.  I hate to break the bad news to you, but there are
people out there that really don't need or want to know all the
details of how wi-fi and the internet operate.  In this case it's
something simpler.  They didn't want to do anything wrong that might
break something and thought it best to ask about the SSID.  It's much
like asking before attempting to operate a Japanese toilet:
<https://www.google.com/search?q=japanese+toilet&tbm=isch>
The function is obvious, but the operating details can be tricky.
Better to ask than to flood the house or worse.

-- 
Jeff Liebermann                 [email protected]
PO Box 272      http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Ben Lomond CA 95005-0272
Skype: JeffLiebermann      AE6KS    831-336-2558