From: main@jfw.groups.io [mailto:main@jfw.groups.io] On Behalf Of Brian Vogel
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 11:06 PM
To: main@jfw.groups.io
Subject: Re: An accessible router

On Tue, Apr 14, 2020 at 11:40 PM, Sieghard Weitzel wrote:

This of course means you absolutely have to change the password to something a lot more secure

Yep, and you need to understand there is a userid (often admin, and often cannot be changed) and password to log in to the router to allow you to configure all its settings, and that is not the same thing as the SSID/network name and password pair used to connect devices to the router via WiFi.

The passwords need to be something you can recall easily (or record) but that are also secure.  I have been suggesting what I call The Portmanteau Method of Creating Passwords for years now.  It allows an end user to create passwords that are easy for them to remember, but well-nigh impossible for any random passerby intent on getting in to your router as the administrator, or join your WiFi network, respectively, to guess.

Also, don't make your SSID/network name something that obviously links it to your physical location.  Although the days of drive-by attempts to connect to open networks is long gone, it still makes sense not to use a SSID/network name like 123Main if you live at 123 Main Street.   Pick something immediately identifiable by you, but not obvious to the outside world.  As an example, my partner is a big fan of Japanese maples, one of my former SSIDs/network names was acer-palmatum, the botanical name for Japanese maples.  
 
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Brian - Windows 10 Pro, 64-Bit, Version 1909, Build 18363  

Tolerance is the positive and cordial effort to understand another's beliefs, practices, and habits without necessarily sharing or accepting them.

        ~ Joshua Liebman