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You may have heard that a good habit to develop is to change WiFi password regularly, however another important thing is choosing strong WiFi passwords that can't be easily hacked.
Before you change your password, you should find out what the current password is. That way, you can ensure that the change will have a positive impact on your security.
There are three ways to find WiFi passwords on iOS, and none of them is particularly user-friendly. Here are your options sorted from the most complicated to the least complicated:
While being the easiest, the third method is also the most limited because you can’t use it to find passwords to networks you don’t administer yourself.
macOS keeps all saved passwords in the Keychain password management system, making it easy to retrieve them at any time:
To view saved passwords, you must have administrator privileges on your Mac. If you don’t see passwords saved by your iPhone, then make sure the Keychain option under iCloud settings is checked.
If you’re not afraid of using the command line, then you can display any saved WiFi password with a single command:
netsh wlan show profiles name=SSID key=clear
Just replace “SSID” with the name of the network whose password you want to see. If you would like to see all saved passwords, use this command instead:
netsh wlan show profile * key=clear
Alternatively, you can display the password of the network you’re currently connected to by following these steps:
That’s how easy it is to find WiFi passwords on Windows. The above-described methods should work across all versions of Windows from 7 up.
Most modern Android smartphones and tablets support WiFi password sharing, allowing you to generate a scannable QR code with the password to the selected WiFi network encoded in it. You can then turn the QR code into plain text using an Android QR code scanner app like QRbot:
The password should now be visible in a human-readable format, along with the name of the WiFi network the password protects.
Now that you know your current WiFi password, you can follow the tips below to set a perfectly reliable WiFi password that cannot be guessed and cannot be easily hacked by a WiFi password hacker.
A rule of thumb for the length of WiFi passwords is to make it at least eight characters long, and the longer it is, the harder it will be to hack.
Even a long password can be quite useless if it is a regular word from a dictionary. Specialized hacking software will quickly crack such password. Randomize letters, numbers, and symbols mixing in the uppercase letters in your otherwise lowercase WiFi password and vice versa.
If you are using real words or phrases in your strong WiFi password, try to make them unique and difficult to hack. For example for your "I watch Game of Thrones at 9.40" password use such form as "IwGoThr@9.40" or substitute the phrase "I love burgers" with "1LUv8uRgEr$!1".
Even if you used letters and numbers, you may still have created a very common weak WiFi password. By all means avoid using instances like "abc1234", "123456789", "password", "qwerty", "111111", "admin", "iloveyou" and "aaaaaa". Every WiFi hacking software will try these first.
It is not difficult to change your WiFi password, just follow the steps below.
On a computer connected to your network open your web browser and enter your router address there. Standard router addresses are 192.168.1.1, 192.168.0.1, 192.168.2.1, or 10.0.1.1 (Apple) or 10.0.0.1 (Xfinity WiFi). In case you can't connect to WiFi because you misplaced the password, use an Ethernet cable to connect directly to the router. In some cases you can use a designated software for your router settings.
If you have never changed your router's login details, look on the outside of your device for its username and password, or you can try an online search according to your router's model. In case you changed the login details previously, find the Reset button on your router, press it and hold for about 30 seconds. Once settings are reset to default you can again look at the outside of your router to use the manufacturer's default login details.
After you have successfully logged in to your router, open Wireless section of its configuration page. It may have a slightly different name in different brands of devices, but shouldn't be hard to determine. Then proceed to Wireless Security page.
Find the box named "Password", "Passphrase" or "Shared Key". There you can enter your new password and re-enter it to verify.
WEP, WPA, and WPA2 are three main types of wireless encryption. WPA2 provides the most security, however it may not support some of the older devices, so you may connect to WPA or WPA/WPA2. WEP has been superseded by newer protocols quite some time ago, as it doesn't provide the needed security anymore and can be hacked easily. Using WEP encryption is not recommended.
Change the name of your network from a default one to something more unique, but make sure not to include any personally identifiable information, as this name will be visible to everyone looking for networks to connect. Usually a router with default name is considered to be an easier hacking target.
Click Apply or Save button to finalize the process and remember your new settings. Now you can use your new WiFi password to connect to your wireless network.
Your secure and strong WiFi network can be also set up to perfection with the help of NetSpot — it can help you eliminate dead zones and weak signal all around your network space.
Here's what to do in order to change your WiFi password:
