How to Change WiFi Name and Password

Characteristics of Good WiFi Names

Many people believe that WiFi names don’t matter much, which explains why there are so many funny WiFi names, such as “hack me” or “WillUmarryMe?” or “Top secret network” or “Drop it like its Hotspot.” Yes, WiFi names are certainly not as important as WiFi passwords, but a good WiFi name can still make a huge difference, and here’s how to pick one:

• Don’t give away any personal information: Perhaps you live next to someone whose WiFi network is named after their address or family name. WiFi names with personal information may be readily identifiable, but they make it very easy to execute targeted attacks. One doesn’t need to be particularly tech-savvy to use a software application downloaded from the internet to make someone’s internet connection useless. Conflicts with neighbors are unpleasant as they are, so don’t make it easy for someone to target your WiFi network by choosing a WiFi name that contains personal information about you.


• Don’t pretend to be a public hotspot: For some reason, people often name their WiFi networks after popular public hotspots, such as “McDonald’s WiFi” or “T-Mobile Hotspot.” It’s true that a fake name like this would certainly make it difficult for your neighbors to figure out which WiFi networks is yours, but it would also almost certainly lead to lower download and upload speeds. You can be sure that many people who enter within reach of your WiFi network will try to connect to it in search of free internet access. Because your router must respond to each such connection attempt, it won’t have as much processing power left to handle requests made by you.


• Do use common sense: There are WiFi name generators that can spit out various clever WiFi names with a press of a button. There are also long lists of funny WiFi network names that you can read for inspiration. However, you must never forget to use common sense when choosing a WiFi name unless you want to make headlines like the person who named their network “Mobile Detonation Device” during a Qantas flight out of Melbourne Australia in 2016. Because of the unfortunate name, the airplane wasn’t allowed to take off until it was thoroughly searched. You may not think so, but the best WiFi names are those that you’ve come up with yourself.

Characteristics of Good WiFi Passwords

The security of your WiFi network rests on the strength of your WiFi password. While it’s convenient to pick a simple password that’s very easy to remember, it pays off to prioritize security over convenience. Here are some tips on how to choose a strong WiFi password that is guaranteed to keep hackers off your network:

• Do use a combination of letters, symbols, and numbers: Simple words just don’t cut it because hackers need just a few minutes to try countless words and word combinations. At the very least, substitute certain characters with letters and throw a few special characters into the mix.


• Don’t use common passwords: Just because a password contains numbers and special symbols in addition to letters doesn’t mean the password is strong. It doesn’t exactly take a genius to come with “12345qwerty” or “p455w0rd.” If your password seems like it might be too obvious, it probably is, and you should change it as soon as possible.


• Do use a password longer than 12 characters: Short passwords don’t protect you against brute-force attacks, which is why you should always use a password that’s at least 12 characters long. Of course, the length of the password isn’t the only thing that determines its strength. When in doubt, use a password strength checker tool to guide you.


• Do use a unique password: Never use the same password for multiple WiFi networks. If you think that you won’t be able to remember multiple passwords, use a password manager such as Bitwarden.


• Don’t share your password: Sharing is caring, but sharing also leads to security problems down the road. Unless you’re ready and willing to change your WiFi password every time you share it with someone, we recommend you create a separate guest network instead.

Conclusion

WiFi names and passwords matter more than you might think. Now that you know how to change them, you should make sure that all your WiFi network names and passwords adhere to the guidelines described in this article.