I have been playing with a wifi sniffer for the last little while (the Nx) and re-discovered an interesting information leak. This is widely known, but it wasn't known to me

If you have associated your iOS device (or Mac) with a wifi access point, every so often it broadcasts a list of all of your associated access points. With any of the freely available AP location tools, it is trivial to get a good idea where you work, live, and like to hang out.

Furthermore, it is a simple matter of scripting to set the SSID, and If it's a well known SSID (for instance, a hotel or restaurant) I can set the passphrase to be the same and you'll just snap on to my network.

I tried Windows, Windows Phone, and a bunch of Android devices and they don't have this same behavior.

Be careful out there.

As I understand it, IOS 8 fixes this.

I haven't tried since GM but previous builds did not fix it. Thanks for the prompt, I'll test it in the morning.


yes.

This is an Android issue, too.

In the interest of maintaining battery life I kill the WiFi whenever I leave home and am not at a friend's house.

Huh, didn't see it. What version of Android do I need to hunt up?

Post 3.1.  Moto Droids.

EFF article