At home and at work, we’re increasingly using WiFi.
While it’s great to be able to connect remotely, it’s important that the network is sufficiently secure.
For this, the only barrier is usually the WPA2 password, which is why it’s important to opt for a strong password.
Why change your password?
For a hacker, all it takes is proximity to a network to have a chance of hacking into it.
Indeed, as soon as a device connects, he can intercept the negotiation packets of the connection session (“handshake”), and thus obtain a cryptographic fingerprint of the WPA2 password.
If the password is weak, e.g. a common word or a name and a few digits, it will only take a few minutes to decrypt it using a dictionary.
How do I create a strong password?
It seems quite difficult to create a password that is both effective and easy to remember, but various methods exist:
- Retain the first letter(s) of words in a sentence and incorporate numbers, either directly into the sentence, or by replacing certain letters (e.g. O’s with 0’s or E’s with 3’s).
For example: “Imagine a summer without sunshine” could become “Im1EtSaS0l”. - Use the phonetics of the words in a sentence.
It’s important to choose the right sentence, because not all sentences are suitable.
For example: “I bought three eggs and two comic books this morning” might be “gHt3Eé2BdCeMaT1”. - Choose a standard password, and shift each letter one key to the right.
For example: “Benjamin2401” could become “Nrmks,om2401”.
Please note: for added security, your password must be at least 12 characters long and contain upper and lower case letters, numbers and special characters.
Even if the new WPA3 encryption standard no longer makes it so easy for hackers to obtain your password, it’s still important to be vigilant. Generating a strong password for your WiFi network is essential, but it’s also important not to keep a note of it, either on paper or on a computer document, to make it easier for hackers.
