Why I use a really long passcode for my wireless network

Visitors to my home who want to use our wireless network are often stupefied by the 63-character, hexadecimal WPA2 passcode. In spite of the legitimate security concerns that went into my choice of such a long code, this always embarrasses me. Of course, being embarrassed easily is all part of growing up and being British. (That’s a Monty Python reference in case you didn’t get it.)

So I’m happy to report yet another analysis of wireless passcode security and the relative ease of cracking them.

The upshot is that no passcode is uncrackable. Your only hope is to make your passcode so long and complex that it can’t be cracked in a reasonable timeframe. Using all of the maximum 63 characters is strongly recommended.

So, laugh all you want, and groan as you struggle to enter that monstrosity, but I’m not going to simplify it just for convenience.

About jrivett

Jeff Rivett has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+, built by his father and heavily customized. Jeff's writing appeared in Computist Magazine in the 1980s, and he created and sold a game utility (Ultimaker 2, reviewed in the December 1983 Washington Apple Pi Journal) to international markets during the same period. Proceeds from writing, software sales, and contract programming gigs paid his way through university, earning him a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree at UWO. Jeff went on to work as a programmer, sysadmin, and manager in various industries. There's more on the About page, and on the Jeff Rivett Consulting site.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *