Editing 2199: Cryptic Wifi Networks

{{comic
| number    = 2199
| date      = September 6, 2019
| title     = Cryptic Wifi Networks
| image     = cryptic_wifi_networks.png
| titletext = They actually showed up on the first scan by the first WiFi-capable device.
}}

==Explanation==

In the comic, [[Knit Cap]] is on top of a high mountain in a remote location (second comic in a row with knit cap). Mobile devices frequently launch a popup telling users to choose a network to connect to. Knit Cap sees a WiFi network name listed on a handheld device, perhaps a cell phone. The WiFi network seems to be a Business that uses Toshiba. This is something you would expect in a city, but certainly not on a mountain top, hence the joke, that what produced these WiFi networks are unknown, but seems to be distributed randomly over the face of the Earth, disregarding nearness to technology. 

Cryptic {{w|Wi-Fi}} (or WiFi) network names, called {{w|Service set (802.11 network)|Service Set Identifiers}} (SSIDs) are part of the joke about not knowing where the corresponding {{w|wireless router}} is located, suggesting they are unexplained phenomena instead of wireless radio devices. Some of the earliest WiFi devices like printers and {{w|internet}} routers advertised cryptic SSIDs, as do many of them today. [https://techtalk.gfi.com/the-31-funniest-ssids-ive-ever-seen/ Humorous SSID names] are not uncommon.

The SSID displayed is '''Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ''' which is 33 characters long, unfortunately one character more than allowed. {{w|Toshiba}} is a multinational electronics conglomerate manufacturing many products including untold multitudes of different kinds of printers over the years. Such devices often have embedded {{w|wireless access point|wireless access points}} including the manufacturer name in the SSID. Many network names contain words like Net, Office or Link. The code might indicate a model U2187 device from Toshiba named (or having an interface program named) OfficeLink, which has a sub-model number or operates on a wireless network designated 46UHZ. That "Hz" is an abbreviation for {{w|Hertz}} suggests that designation may or may not have something to do with the frequency on which the transmitting device operates. U2187 could also be the {{w|Unicode}} character [https://www.fileformat.info/info/unicode/char/2187/index.htm code for the Roman numeral 50,000 spelled "ↇ"] or a serial number for a user or a utility pole. We don't know whether the SSID is connected to a network of more than one or is just one device. The padlock icon indicates that a password is required to communicate. The "join other network" option allows for manually typing SSIDs to attempt to connect with networks which are not configured to display their SSIDs.

While the most likely explanation in an office environment might be a printer plugged in somewhere nearby, other possibilities include a delivery drone, television, speaker, pacemaker, alarm system, [https://twitter.com/Theteamatx/status/1162762591677997056 offshore flying wind turbine,] fashion accessory, military base, hobby project, surveillance device, {{w|Loon LLC|balloon}}, malware-infested device, {{w|Starlink (satellite constellation)|StarLink satellite}}, [https://x.company/projects/foghorn seawater dialysis station,] telecommunication facility, {{w|Facebook Aquila|solar-powered drone}}, infrastructure element, [http://www.geekculture.com/joyoftech/joyarchives/2340.html ransomware worm nest,] or anything else in the Wifi {{w|Internet of Things}}. Sometimes, the {{w|ionosphere}} reflects radio waves, vastly increasing the distance that they can travel to and from remote locations, but this {{w|skywave}} propagation normally affects frequencies below 30 MHz, and never above 300 MHz, so they couldn't be the cause of receiving far away Wifi signals, which are 900 MHz and above.

The {{w|List of router firmware projects|software which produces SSID listings}} is administered by {{w|List of wireless community networks by region|network communities}} and depends on {{w|Wireless mesh network|mesh configurations}}. (Please see also [[1785: Wifi]].) Alternatives include [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20861948 bluetooth mesh networks] and other {{w|wireless ad hoc network|''ad hoc'' networks}} to provide internet connectivity services.

The title text indicates that the first WiFi networking client interface displayed unexpected SSIDs. If true, this could potentially rule out all of the alternative explanations other than a software bug, rogue industrial espionage, hardware misconfiguration, or the supernatural. (It is worth noting that cryptic-sounding WiFi networks generated by a time-traveling alien entity as a trap was used as a plot device in the 2013 ''{{w|Doctor Who}}'' episode "{{w|The Bells of Saint John}}". Doctor Who is a [[:Category:Doctor_Who|recurring theme]] on xkcd.)

<!-- The ''Tech Trivia'' caption is reminiscent of many of the comics in the [[:Category:Tips|Tips category]], and it seems like it could just as well have been named ''Tech Tip''. But since tip is not part of the wording, this comic cannot be added to the category. -->

==Transcript==
:[Knit Cap (who has a backpack) is checking a phone at the highest mountain in a mountainous landscape, with 5 snow covered mountain peaks behind, and a smaller peak connected to and just below that one. There seems to be no snow on those two peaks. Above is a view of the phone's screen as indicated with a zigzag line from the phone's screen to the frame with text. There is also a wifi icon at the top left and a padlock icon at the end of the second line of text. The bottom line is a gray font.]
:Phone: Available WiFi Networks
:Phone: Toshiba-U2187-OfficeLink-Net46UHZ
:Phone: <font color="gray"> Join other network  </font>

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Tech Trivia: No one actually knows what devices produce those cryptic WiFi networks. They just appear at random across the Earth's surface.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Knit Cap]]
[[Category:Computers]]