A long password is generally the best password, but it quickly becomes annoying if you have to enter that string of characters on a new television or phone. These tips will help you avoid that.
A good password consists of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and, where possible, a few punctuation marks. Experts also advise using at least ten characters. ‘Password123’ is a fairly bad password, while something like ‘6do#F5xwYS!9vM@X2ap’ protects your device very well.
There are two principles behind this. Firstly, your password must be difficult to guess: the name of your favorite pet or your hometown can be quickly guessed by someone in your environment.
You also need to make it as difficult as possible for hackers who try to guess your password with software. By combining letters, numbers, and symbols, it becomes much more complex for hackers than if you only use letters.
But in the case of a Wi-Fi network, long passwords can be annoying. If you log in to a device without a password manager, such as a new television, you must type the code letter by letter to log in. There are two ways you can solve this.
Tip 1: Set a ‘password sentence’
A long password doesn’t have to be difficult to remember. By thinking of a short sentence and setting it as a password, you have a strong password that doesn’t easily escape your mind.
For example, consider ‘UncleAbelHas3NewKittens’. That password has no less than 26 characters and includes both lowercase and uppercase letters and a number. By learning this sentence and remembering that the 3 is a number and each word starts with a capital letter, you can easily remember the password later.
Tip 2: Print a QR code
If you often have friends or family over who want to connect to your Wi-Fi from a smartphone, you can make that process easier with a special QR code. By scanning it with the camera of a phone, this device is automatically connected to the network in question. Typing a password is not necessary here.
On the website QR Code Generator you can enter the name of your Wi-Fi network and the associated password. In the ‘Encryption’ option, you almost always put a check mark next to ‘WPA/WPA2’; that is the security form that most wireless routers now use. After this you will receive a QR code that you can print on a paper.
However, make sure that the paper with the QR code is not visible to everyone. For example, hang the code in your meter cupboard or put it in a folder that you can easily access.
With some routers you can also create a guest network in the settings. That network has a different name and password, which you can then share with your guests. Once connected, your guests can use the internet, but for example cannot watch your smart home equipment such as security cameras.