Information
The Wi-Fi status in the menu bar indicates if the system's wireless internet capabilities are enabled. If so, the system will scan for available wireless networks in order to connect. At the time of this revision, all computers Apple builds have wireless network capability, which has not always been the case. This control only pertains to systems that have a wireless NIC available. Operating systems running in a virtual environment may not score as expected, either.
Rationale:
Enabling 'Show Wi-Fi status in menu bar' is a security awareness method that helps mitigate public area wireless exploits by making the user aware of their wireless connectivity status.
Impact:
The user of the system should have a quick check on their wireless network status available.
Solution
Graphical Method:
Perform the following steps to enable Wi-Fi status in the menu bar:
Open System Settings
Select Control Center
Set Wi-Fi to Show in Menu Bar
Terminal Method:
For each user, run the following command to enable Wi-Fi status in the menu bar:
$ /usr/bin/sudo -u <username> /usr/bin/defaults -currentHost write com.apple.controlcenter.plist WiFi -int 2
example:
$ /usr/bin/sudo -u firstuser /usr/bin/defaults -currentHost write com.apple.controlcenter.plist WiFi -int 2
Profile Method:
Create or edit a configuration profile with the following information:
The PayloadType string is com.apple.controlcenter
The key to include is WiFi
The key must be set to <integer>18</integer>
Note: Since the profile method sets a system-wide setting and not a user-level one, the profile method is the preferred method. It is always better to set system-wide than per user.
Additional Information:
AirPort is Apple's marketing name for its 802.11x based wireless network interfaces.
Option-click the Wifi icon in the menu bar to find out more information about the connected wireless network.