WiFi Passwords for Dummies

Router information plate

The word "hacking" seems to be in the news quite a bit these days, yet few people seem to remember that a hack is supposed to be a good thing! But we digress... Apparently some people don't know how to find their wifi passwords, and that's pretty frustrating. If you're one of them, what do you do? Well, chances are pretty good you'll look on the 'net – but you probably don't want the quality of advice you'll get from James Wiley, who penned "How to Get a WiFi Password"¹ for the folks at Techwalla.

For starters, Wiley thinks the only reason to want a WiFi password is because...

"Many times, people have their cable modem plugged in and ready, and have their computer on and are attempting to connect to their new Wi-Fi network. When using a network for the first time, you are always required to enter the network's password, and some people do not know where to find this..."

Umm, sure: the ISP or modem maker didn't send directions, so you had to ask a yutz with a "double major in global studies and Spanish" (NOTE: not in computer science). Yeah, sure – and that's probably why the only instruction you get is to

"Go over to your modem and look underneath it." According to James, every modem has the WiFi password written on the bottom -- which, as anyone who isn't using a gateway-type modem supplied by his ISP already knows -- is utter bull: for one, not everyone uses a gateway; for another (and more important) a modem doesn't create the WiFi signal, a router does. Getting that stupidity out of the way... in the first place there are many reasons for needing a WiFi password besides connecting to a newly-installed network, though smart people know the best way to get the password is to – tada! – ask someone for it.

In the second place, if you buy your own router instead of paying the ISP eight bucks a month to rent one, you know that you can configure the WiFi password (among other security settings) yourself.

In the third place, smart people know that if you've forgotten or lost your password, most of your devices have it in the network settings; and you can retrieve it there. Which is one more reason to lock your phone or tablet, but we don't need to tell you that, do we?

No, as far as Wiley is concerned, the only reason you'd want a password is because you have just set up a new network. For that lack of imagination (and James' obvious unfamiliarity with routers you get at BestBuy instead of rent from your ISP) the boy's picking up his second Dumbass of the Day award in less than a week.

¹ The original has been deleted by Leaf Group, but can still be accessed using the Wayback machine at archive.org. Its URL was   techwalla.com/articles/how-to-get-a-wifi-password

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