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Security is and always has been a sliding scale, despite always referred colloquially as being either present or absent. "Keeping your password secure" in Engli

Security is and always has been a sliding scale, despite always referred colloquially as being either present or absent. "Keeping your password secure" in English really means, "improving the security of your password".

shkkmo 7y ago
Except this feature doesn't add security, it just adds a tool for reducing the usability trade-off of having a long hard password. I think it is very misleading phrasing.
- coryfklein 7y ago
  If the feature makes folks more likely to use a 64 character random password for your Wi-Fi then I'd say it certainly does add security. Presumably folks will be "sharing" the plaintext value of their Wi-Fi password with friends regardless of whether they use this feature or not, so it appears to neither increase nor decrease THAT aspect of Wi-Fi password security.
  - dmix 7y ago
    I highly doubt anyone is using 64 character wifi passwords because QR codes are an option. Good luck typing that into your playstation with a controller and your chinese IoT product. The best solution is still the middle ground between readability/memorability + strength. Or stored in a password library until needed.
- ehsankia 7y ago
  Does the person who scanned the QR code have access to the wifi password after the fact on their phone? From what I remember, there is no way to access saved wifi passwords, you can just modify it but can't see the stored one. This way, if you just have them scan the QR code on your phone (and don't let them photograph it), technically you have securely given the password without them knowing it, right?
  - shkkmo 7y ago
    > Does the person who scanned the QR code have access to the wifi password after the fact on their phone? Yes and this version of Android makes it easy to view saved wifi passwords without a third-party app.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - tazard 7y ago
    Could they then go and create a QR code to share/decode?
  - bscphil 7y ago
    If they use the most popular QR code scanner on Android [1], it shows the password in the scanner (IIRC), along with a button to connect to it. There's no acceptably secure way to give someone a WiFi password without ... giving it to them. QR codes are a simple graphical representation of text, they don't encrypt that text in any way. Sharing a password this way is not more secure than them handing you their device and you typing it in - and if you do that you should regard the other person as in possession of your password. [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxing.client.android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxi...

shkkmo 7y ago

Except this feature doesn't add security, it just adds a tool for reducing the usability trade-off of having a long hard password. I think it is very misleading phrasing.

coryfklein 7y ago
If the feature makes folks more likely to use a 64 character random password for your Wi-Fi then I'd say it certainly does add security. Presumably folks will be "sharing" the plaintext value of their Wi-Fi password with friends regardless of whether they use this feature or not, so it appears to neither increase nor decrease THAT aspect of Wi-Fi password security.
- dmix 7y ago
  I highly doubt anyone is using 64 character wifi passwords because QR codes are an option. Good luck typing that into your playstation with a controller and your chinese IoT product. The best solution is still the middle ground between readability/memorability + strength. Or stored in a password library until needed.
ehsankia 7y ago
Does the person who scanned the QR code have access to the wifi password after the fact on their phone? From what I remember, there is no way to access saved wifi passwords, you can just modify it but can't see the stored one. This way, if you just have them scan the QR code on your phone (and don't let them photograph it), technically you have securely given the password without them knowing it, right?
- shkkmo 7y ago
  > Does the person who scanned the QR code have access to the wifi password after the fact on their phone? Yes and this version of Android makes it easy to view saved wifi passwords without a third-party app.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- tazard 7y ago
  Could they then go and create a QR code to share/decode?
- bscphil 7y ago
  If they use the most popular QR code scanner on Android [1], it shows the password in the scanner (IIRC), along with a button to connect to it. There's no acceptably secure way to give someone a WiFi password without ... giving it to them. QR codes are a simple graphical representation of text, they don't encrypt that text in any way. Sharing a password this way is not more secure than them handing you their device and you typing it in - and if you do that you should regard the other person as in possession of your password. [1] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxing.client.android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.zxi...