And, this is a problem... why?

No, it means that some uninvited "service" won't pinpont my router or SSID on Google Earth or Maps, such as I discovered was being done a 1-1./2 years ago. Although I see Cisco has since disconnected the public Meraki Mapper, I'm sure there are plenty of others out there.
http://www.sonycreativesoftware.com/forums/ShowMessage.asp?ForumID=4&MessageID=760507.

_nomap is another layer of privacy if not security, in a time when both are in short supply.

Also, not broadcasting your SSID in the beacon provides no added security whatsoever, and may actually attract more attention from passing scanners. Not recommended.

[I]"Also, not broadcasting your SSID in the beacon provides no added security whatsoever, and may actually attract more attention from passing scanners"[/I]

I believe I already mentioned in my original post that it will not stop anyone determined but I can assure you within hours of my advertising my SSID several neighbours were trying to use my network.

I'd also imagine appending "_nomap" to your SSID will also attract attention.

If what you're worried about is someone finding out where you live good luck with that. It's been demonstrated to me that almost anyone who posts anything on a forum can be found in minutes and that's in Australia where there's a few more impediments than in the USA.

One of the biggest security problem we all face as I found out the hard way is email. Virtually every ISP's email servers are also web facing and very easy to hack into, once your email can be intercepted you can be in for a rocky ride. Apart from the usual cautions regarding passwords make certain none of your email is being left on your ISP's servers.

Bob.

"And, this is a problem... why?"

UPDATE:
It's enough of a problem that in the last thirty days, a US federal judge has ruled that Google can be sued for drive-by data collection, Google has taken down the public GEAR Geolocation API, and the drive-by data has disappeared from all of their maps and those being used by other services.

Apparently, the only wifi router data collection Google does now is through Android users, who specifically give Google permission to do so whenever they turn on Android Location on their phone or tablet and connect to an AP.

I can confirm that with the _nomap suffix on my SSID, Google still sees my home router when Android Location is turned on, but it no longer sticks to Google Maps, and the location disappears rather quickly once I turn the service on my tablet off.

So all around, it looks like a victory for home privacy advocates. I sure don't mind sharing my router with guests, but as bob correctly points out, private routers and networks can be cracked by any number of means. And given the correct address, so can one's front door.

Somehow, giving our precise location on a Google Map to all the jokers in the bars a half-block up the street just didn't seem to have much appeal for me.
EOR

" in the bars a half-block up the street "

That explains a lot (LOL).

Yep, it's true; still a great neighborhood, and my SSID remains socially neutral.
;?)

I've wandered through the park across the street from my house and overheard people with their smartphones mention my, admittedly bizarrely ridiculous many-syllabic SSIDs and say "what the heck are these?" Meanwhile, almost everyone else in the neighborhood uses their family name for theirs.

One of my neighbors, not sure who, goes as the "FBI Surveillance Van."
Guess it's to keep people away from his router.

Another thing I found out is that WPS is a big security hole. The manufacturers are recommending that after initial setup, we disable the router's PIN or WPS permanently.

Even with location services enabled on my android phone, Google usually thinks my wifi access points are in New Jersey, about 120 miles southeast of my house, or sometimes Google thinks it's in Maryland (the village, not the state), which is about 30 miles northeast of me. They have sometimes reported that i live at TimeWarner's headquarters in NYC, and once or twice has reported that i'm in Dallas.

Obviously for some odd reason they're using an IP->Geo lookup table which is sketchy and often out of date, rather than wifi triangulation. I suppose that's probably because they've never sent their trucks through my rural neighborhood.

Android Location generally finds me within 20 feet or so.
It only gets interesting when I turn the service off. "Last known location" was in the ocean somewhere off the west coast of Africa.

"Major Tom to Ground Control . . ."

Oh, when i'm on cellular data network they have me pegged to within 20 feet, and the GPS is likewise as accurate. It's only when i'm on my wifi at home that they seem to use the incorrect IP address/location lookup instead of what the GPS tells them. (*shrug*)