The most complete guide to setting Wi-Fi passwords + quick connection methods! You no longer have to worry about being hacked

      When renovating or changing routers, you always face a problem: if the password is too simple, it is easy to be cracked by hackers' social engineering or even brute force, which will slow down the Internet speed; if it is too complicated, it may be too much of a headache for friends who come to visit to enter it. After all, there are various mature generation, storage and filling schemes for ordinary website passwords, but for Wi-Fi passwords that need to be shared frequently, the existing methods simply do not work.

　　However, this does not mean that your Wi-Fi password cannot be both secure and convenient. In fact, today's smart devices usually come with a variety of methods that can ensure that the Wi-Fi password is complex enough while allowing you and your friends to quickly connect to the Wi-Fi network.

　　Today, APPSO will teach you step by step how to strengthen the security of your home Wi-Fi network, starting from the most basic password setting.

　　Basic Settings

　　If you want to do your job well, you must first sharpen your tools. If you want to strengthen your Wi-Fi network, you must start with encryption protocols and password strength.

　　1. Use strong encryption protocols such as WPA2 or WPA3

　　Currently, the three most popular Wi-Fi network encryption methods are Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), of which WPA has been upgraded to the second and third generations. Although some older devices still use WEP encryption, it has been found to have serious security vulnerabilities and is therefore considered an unsafe encryption method by default.

　　Generally speaking, the default encryption settings for newly launched Wi-Fi AP (access hotspot) devices are all WPA2. If you want to check your Wi-Fi network encryption protocol, you need to modify or view it in your Wi-Fi AP or wireless router (hereinafter referred to as "Wi-Fi device"). Here we take the newer TP-LINK router as an example:

　　Connect the device to the Wi-Fi device's network. Open the router settings page from the browser and click 'Route Settings' at the bottom. Enter 'Wireless Settings'. Find 'Authentication Type' in the 'Wireless Settings' section on the right. Make sure 'WPA2-PSK / WPA3-SAE' is selected and click Save.

▲ The option to modify the authentication encryption type on newer TP-LINK brand routers

　　The router settings page may be different for different brands, models and release dates of Wi-Fi devices; the options are also located in different places, generally in "Wireless Settings", "Broadcast Settings", and "AP Settings". The supported encryption authentication types are also different, make sure to select the following authentication types:

　　WPA2-Personal / WPA2-PSKWPA3-Personal / WPA3-SAE

　　If your Wi-Fi device does not have the above encryption methods, it may be due to old firmware. Try updating the firmware (refer to the Wi-Fi device manual) and then set it up. If it still does not work, it is strongly recommended to consider replacing a more modern Wi-Fi device to ensure network security.

　　2. Set a strong password

　　The reason why this item is put after the encryption protocol is that the password issues we will talk about next are closely related to the encryption protocol: in 2018, a vulnerability was found in the WPA2-Personal encryption protocol, which was achieved by "squeezing" the client connected to the network offline, waiting for the client to try to reconnect to the Wi-Fi device, and then cracking the password by intercepting the handshake packet.

　　Although this cracking possibility exists, it does not mean that WPA2-Personal is completely unsafe. Some security manuals will recommend that users set sufficiently irregular characters to avoid this attack method. Of course, completely irregular passwords will also cause certain obstacles to our subsequent device connections. For this reason, using pseudowords, which are easy-to-read but meaningless words, to form passwords can ensure randomness while making it relatively easier for us to enter.

　　If you use 1Password, when creating a new password, select "easy to remember password" and you can generate a virtual password according to your needs. In addition, there are other password generation tools on the Internet to generate virtual passwords.

▲ 1Password on the left and "Physical Password Generator" on the right

　　In addition, remember to write down the new password after changing it.

　　Connection

　　Even with complex, randomly generated passwords, there's no need to do an 'eyesight test' or 'typing test' when you have guests over. With just these few tips, connecting to your Wi-Fi couldn't be easier.

　　1. Use the built-in sharing function

　　Including various systems under Apple, as well as most models of major domestic Android manufacturers, there is a 'share Wi-Fi password' option.

　　Let's talk about iPhone first. If you and your friend both use iPhone, have exchanged phone numbers or email addresses in the Contacts app, and your phone numbers or email addresses are registered in your iCloud account, then you can quickly connect to the Internet through the built-in network password sharing feature of iOS.

　　It is best to unlock your iPhone first and ask your friend to open the 'Settings' app, enter 'Wireless LAN' or 'WLAN', click your network name, and then wait on the password input interface. At this time, your iPhone will pop up a sharing prompt, just click 'Share Password'

　　As for Android phones, most of the sharing functions they provide are through QR code sharing. Taking LineageOS as an example, enter the details page of the Wi-Fi network, click the 'Share' button, and the Wi-Fi QR code will be displayed after verifying the lock screen password.

　　It should be noted that this QR code does not seem to be scannable via WeChat. iPhones can scan the code via the 'Camera' app, and Android phones can look for the 'Scan' function in the system or Wi-Fi settings. If not, you may need to download a QR code scanner.

　　2. NFC card

　　NFC (Near Field Communication) is a protocol that facilitates the rapid exchange of data between two mobile phones or between a mobile phone and other objects. Currently, most models of almost all mainstream brands have NFC function, and we can also use it to make a Wi-Fi connection NFC card, which can connect to the Wi-Fi network with just a touch.

　　Back to the rendering at the beginning of the article, let’s talk about how to implement it.

　　First, you need to buy a few blank NFC or RFID cards. Search for "NFC tag" or "NFC card" on mainstream e-commerce platforms, and you can find many blank cards in a variety of styles and colors. The price is usually a few cents each.

　　Then, we need to download the NFC Tools app on our phone. NFC Tools has both iOS and Android versions, both of which can complete the writing of Wi-Fi NFC cards.

　　After preparing the blank card and NFC Tools, we can write the Wi-Fi password directly to the blank card:

　　On the NFC Tools main interface, select 'Write' and click 'Add Record'. Find 'Wi-Fi Network' and click 'Edit' to the right of 'Authentication'. Select the corresponding encryption protocol according to the actual configuration of your router. Fill in your Wi-Fi name (SSID) and password, and click OK in the upper right corner. NFC Tools will automatically return at this time. On the interface after returning, click the third 'Write' button on the top, and then point the blank card at the back of the phone until the phone prompts 'Writing Completed'