Q, Best length of p/word for router?

Hi guys

With WPA/AES settings applied to router, what is the recommended size of password?

With an ever lengthening number of technologies (kindles, phones) that need the p/word, the randomly generated 63/64 length ones are becoming increasingly unpopular in my home.

I need a good balance between security & application.

Thanks.

 

Hi bitsandbobs,

Before you do anything, I suggest you determine the maximum length of password allowed withing your router's firmware/software - first. A visit to your router's manufacturer website, or your router's software (tomato, etc.) website should have the information available, and if not, you should contact them via telephone or email to nail down the determination as to maximum size password allowed.

It seems I've hosed my own router password when I tried to change it with too long of a password. Now, I have the choice of either resetting my router by pushing the router reset button and then reconfiguring it (think about saving the router's configuration prior to changing the password to alleiviate this problem), or leave it as is (since it still works just fine) - the result is that I cannot login, but neither can my ISP.

-- Tom

 

Cheers Tom,

I've been successfully using a 63 or 64 randomly generated character password. I really want to knock that down to something more manageable.

I've seen reference to 16 or 20 characters, but I don't know the ins and outs that support the suggestions.

 

Hi guys, is there really nobody who's using a smaller password?

 

Thanks JRViejo, that gives me some confidence in the smaller than maximum passwords.

 

When you connect a device to your wireless network it will remember the wireless password. You only have to type it in once. So for your own family's devices I can't imagine that it's much of an inconvenience to use a long wireless password.

I'm guessing that the problem is you have numerous guests that want to log in to your wireless while they visit. Something to consider is this: some routers will allow you to create two wireless networks: one would have the 64-char password for your family, and the other would have a simpler password (like "Fam1lyGu35t") for visitors. This would also increase the security of your family's devices because the guest network wouldn't be able to access your family's network, which means your guests can't introduce viruses accidentally or purposefully to your family's computers.

 

I would like to raise awareness when WPA or WPA2 are used within a PSK (pre-shared key) environment you will want to change the key (password) every 30 days for maximum security. You should also change the key after guests use the network. By the nature of how the handshake works it is very easy for someone to capture the handshake of an authenticating client and break offline. Deauthentication can also be used to reroute a target to an “evil-twin” and attempt to capture a larger password that way.