Wifi networks that start with a dot

[mtz_federico]

I’ve noticed that some wifi networks with a captive portal start with a dot (check the image)

Is there any reason for this besides naming?

[Acedia]

Not that I know of and I've set up multiple wifis with captive portals before.

[dalekphalm]

Likely just to make sure it appears at the top of the list of discovered SSID’s, given most OS’s sort SSID’s alphabetically. 

 

There’s no technical reason why you’d put a period at the start of the SSID name. We use a captive portal at work and don’t use any periods. Nor have I actually seen any that do. 

[mtz_federico]

20 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

Likely just to make sure it appears at the top of the list of discovered SSID’s, given most OS’s sort SSID’s alphabetically. 

 

There’s no technical reason why you’d put a period at the start of the SSID name. We use a captive portal at work and don’t use any periods. Nor have I actually seen any that do. 

Makes sense. Thanks for the reply 

[Acedia]

Hey I jsut got another idea! Due to a bug in the Unix File System files starting with . are hidden. Maybe the guy who set it up was a Linux guy and thought he could hide the SSID by starting it with a .?

[dalekphalm]

6 hours ago, Acedia said:

Hey I jsut got another idea! Due to a bug in the Unix File System files starting with . are hidden. Maybe the guy who set it up was a Linux guy and thought he could hide the SSID by starting it with a .?

It’s possible? If so, he’s wrong. There’s a specific mechanism to hide SSID’s. 

[mtz_federico]

7 hours ago, Acedia said:

Hey I jsut got another idea! Due to a bug in the Unix File System files starting with . are hidden. Maybe the guy who set it up was a Linux guy and thought he could hide the SSID by starting it with a .?

Could be but I doubt it since its free public wifi