# Way to keep a secret, guys!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 19, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277 "2013-11-19T18:28:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/1 "2013-11-19T18:28:26Z")
So I’m at a local clinic to pick up a prescription. The wait is long, so I fire up my pad to see if free wifi is available. It turns out that the clinic provides free wifi, but amongst all the other locked choices was this gem: “FBI surveillance van #3”.
I go to the window and slowly turn the pad until the most bars show up and, sure enough, right there is an unmarked white van sitting in the parking lot. Could the local Fibbies actually be so stupid as to openly label their wifi connections like that?
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### Author:  [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/2 "2013-11-19T18:31:19Z")
I refuse to believe it’s anything other than a joke.
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### Author:  [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/3 "2013-11-19T18:33:06Z")
I just renamed my own wifi network from the innocuous “Bosnet” to “FBI Surveillance Van #3”. 😃
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### Author:  [@Cinnamon\_Imp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cinnamon_Imp)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/4 "2013-11-19T18:34:44Z")
It’s a fairly standard joke - was [known back in 2011](http://gawker.com/5832665/do-not-name-your-wifi-network-fbi-surveillance-van).
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### Author:  [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/5 "2013-11-19T18:42:01Z")
My home wifi is “Horrible Computer Viruses”
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/6 "2013-11-19T18:45:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Could the local Fibbies actually be so stupid as to openly label their wifi connections like that?
They’d have to be stupid enough to name their WiFi connection that, but also to _leave the connection open_. I _really_ doubt that they do that.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/7 "2013-11-19T18:48:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> So I’m at a local clinic to pick up a prescription. The wait is long, so I fire up my pad to see if free wifi is available. It turns out that the clinic provides free wifi, but amongst all the other locked choices was this gem: “FBI surveillance van #3”.
Highly recommended for downloading child porn and bomb making plans.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/8 "2013-11-19T18:49:15Z")
Well, live and learn.
Y’all are absolutely right, of course-The FBI wouldn’t ever do anything that stupid.
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### Author:  [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/9 "2013-11-19T19:05:33Z")
My home wifi network is **Mind Control Platform MN-034C**.
I’m in an apartment complex, and when I pull up the list of networks on my ipad, there are like 15 or so listed. Most are named stuff like “mama” and “Julie” and “Home”, the rest still have the hardware name on them.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/10 "2013-11-19T19:17:57Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Well, live and learn.
> Y’all are absolutely right, of course-The FBI wouldn’t ever do anything that stupid.
Why, I suspect you’re using sarcasm right now! :eek:
Our home network is named “Galactica.” My brother-in-law (a Mac geek) has named his “The Collective.” 😃
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/11 "2013-11-19T19:21:18Z")
> [@Chimera](#):
>
> I’m in an apartment complex, and when I pull up the list of networks on my ipad, there are like 15 or so listed. Most are named stuff like “mama” and “Julie” and “Home”, the rest still have the hardware name on them.
I don’t live in a concentrated, populated area (my signal can’t be detected from the road or any nearby homes and it’s usually disabled anyway), but if I did, and wanted to remain _relatively_ anonymous, I’d use a SID that was the default or looked like one such as NETGEAR938. I say “relatively,” since I know you can disable the broadcast entirely.
My point is, how can you know if it’s a default sig or just a default-type sig (hardware name)?
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### Author:  [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/12 "2013-11-19T20:34:07Z")
One at my building is called “txt[phone number]forpasswrd”. That’s weird.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/13 "2013-11-19T20:36:26Z")
> [@Blackberry](#):
>
> One at my building is called “txt[phone number]forpasswrd”. That’s weird.
So…have you tried it?
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### Author:  [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/14 "2013-11-19T20:38:21Z")
> [@Musicat](#):
>
> My point is, how can you know if it’s a default sig or just a default-type sig (hardware name)?
Experience mostly.
I know that neighbors of some friends of mine used the same wifi hardware that we had and never changed the admin password from the default. We upgraded their firmware for them one night. 😃
After watching [this TED](http://www.ted.com/talks/james_lyne_everyday_cybercrime_and_what_you_can_do_about_it.html) talk (Important part starts at 12:30 - 15:00(Bonus, it includes a reference to a wifi network called CIA surveillance Van)) recently I changed the names of all my devices to very generic and/or fake names and I’ve started turning wifi off unless I am actively using it. Bonus feature - my battery lasts longer too.
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### Author:  [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/15 "2013-11-19T20:53:26Z")
> [@Moonlitherial](#):
>
> Experience mostly.
>
> I know that neighbors of some friends of mine used the same wifi hardware that we had and never changed the admin password from the default. We upgraded their firmware for them one night. 😃
>
> After watching [this TED](http://www.ted.com/talks/james_lyne_everyday_cybercrime_and_what_you_can_do_about_it.html) talk (Important part starts at 12:30 - 15:00(Bonus, it includes a reference to a wifi network called CIA surveillance Van)) recently I changed the names of all my devices to very generic and/or fake names and I’ve started turning wifi off unless I am actively using it. Bonus feature - my battery lasts longer too.
Why in the world would it do that? Why doesn’t it just ask all the surrounding networks for their SSID? That’s what I was taught it did–that’s why you never hide your SSID, because then you actually do have to send out the SSID.
Not that my SSID is all that unique, or that the data available online can trace it. Google doesn’t drive through every street in my hometown.
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### Author:  [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/16 "2013-11-19T21:00:48Z")
> [@Musicat](#):
>
> So…have you tried it?
No, but I kind of want to and see what they say. What is their angle?
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### Author:  [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/17 "2013-11-19T21:51:30Z")
I think I’ll rename mine to SneakerNet, just to confuse people.
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### Author:  [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/18 "2013-11-19T22:01:06Z")
So… Czarcasm didn’t recognize sarcasm?
Got it.
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### Author:  [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/19 "2013-11-19T22:02:19Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#):
>
> I think I’ll rename mine to SneakerNet, just to confuse people.
🙂
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### Author:  [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)
#### Post date: [November 19, 2013, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-keep-a-secret-guys/674277/20 "2013-11-19T22:43:23Z")
I have two friends (married couple) whose names are Jenny and Erik. They have their wifi as Jennerik (“generic”). It amuses me.
Walking near some campus housing, my phone picked up “Bill Fi the Science Wi!” - yes, including exclamation point. I love it!
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