“What’s your Wi-Fi password?”
After your address (and maybe where the bathroom is), it’s the most crucial info for someone visiting your new digs for the first time.
If you have Wintek internet service at home, don’t worry. Your visitors will eventually notice all the cool stuff you’ve done with the place. It’s good to give folks a minute to get over the blazing-fast speed.
It’s part of being a gracious host, right, what with your perfect playlists, tasty snacks, distinctly identified network name and unique, randomized access password? OK, maybe you don’t celebrate cybersecurity awareness quite like we do. But you can come close with simple choices to help ensure your Wi-Fi is secure year-round.
What’s in a name?
You’ve probably chuckled at network names like FBI Surveillance Van or Panic at the Cisco. Custom network names offer a good laugh and protection from malware attacks, bandwidth theft and more.
Default network names can reveal your router’s make and model, which can help hackers figure out how to exploit it … especially if you haven’t changed the default password to access your Wi-Fi.
The password is …
…not the one printed on your router (if you’re doing it right). Always change your default Wi-Fi access password, which can be easily found online. A password that’s easy to find is no password at all.
Good password rules elsewhere apply here, too. Keep in mind:
- Don’t copy: Create a new password you’re not using anywhere else
- Randomize: Switch up lower- and upper-case letters, numbers and symbols
- Go long: Something with 12 characters or more is always a smart choice
