Non-broadcasting wifi

[Dist]

How do i set my laptop (Running XP) to connect to a wifi network that is not broadcasting its SSID? Currently i have my router set to broadcast, but that is only because i havnt figured out how to connect without broadcasting, which is what i hope to do to increase security as others wont be able to see my network.

When not broadcasting, i cant see the wifi network in the list of nearby wifi networks (obviously) but i cant see a way to get it to attempt to connect to a network in can not see.

 

[Dist]

Not broadcasting your SSID is a false economy in terms of security - it's easy enough to see wireless networks that aren't broadcasting it (using netstumbler, for instance, you can see all SSID-'hidden' networks without any extra configuration) so all you're doing is giving yourself a false sense of security as anyone who wanted to hack your network wouldn't find it any impediment at all.

Beyond WPA and changing your wireless key frequently there's not much you can do.

edit: apologies for the rambleyness of that one

It may not provide any real security, but it will stop anyone nearby seeing my network on their computers unless they are specificaly set out to try and tap into my wifi connection. Better then nothing IMO.

 

[Dist]

I currently use WPA2 with AES, and have it set to only allow the specific MAC addresses of my laptop and my Wii. If not broadcasting the SSID will not provide any more security against hackers or not doesnt matter, since im going to try set up my network to not broadcast. If you cant provide any help on how to get my laptop to connect when the network is not broadcasting (I already have the network listed in the place that superplay mentioned and its still not working) then please dont post.

 

[Dist]

If you can't handle people posting informed advice that doesn't quite agree with your views then please don't post on a forum.

feel free to post your opinion on this forum, just dont post it in this thread. I asked for advice on how to connect my laptop to a non broadcasting network, not for peoples opinions on the pros/cons of non-broadcasting networks. So please keep your replys on topic.

 

[Dist]

Set it to broadcast, connect, then set it to not broadcast. Will last until the lease expires or the router is re-started.

tried that, i lost connection the moment i saved the settings (as tomato disables wifi when saving wifi settings, then restarts it after settings finish saving)