4 ms·
Consumer routers have had this issue solved for ages: you generate a random password and put it physically on the device.
by craftkiller 2y ago
Consumer routers have had this issue solved for ages: you generate a random password and put it physically on the device.
- ghaff 2y agoI don't want some complicated random password. At least where I live, my router password is a very modest security shim to protect against very random casual access. If I have a visitor who needs WiFi access, I want to give them an easy password to type in.
- craftkiller 2y agoYou can always change the passwords. I was bringing this up as a solution to the default passwords issue. You don't want to have a static default password used by everyone, so you need the initial password to be randomized. People are dumb so you need to print it on the device. There is no need to default to cloud-based authentication to close the default password security hole.
- barbazoo 2y agoWifi password != admin password. The admin password should be random and then you can change it when you take ownership of the device.
- marsovo 2y agoSo change it afterwards. Good defaults are important. If someone doesn't change it, it's important that they be on the right path instead of...this one. (See also: opt-in versus opt-out for retirement plans, organ donation...heck, even this from yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43144611 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43144611)
- wlesieutre 2y agoIf it's too hard for a guest to type in a password, you can also have them join by scanning a QR code. Obviously this works better for phones and tablets with QR scanning built into the camera, but that's what guests are frequently using. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code#Joining_a_Wi%E2%80%91Fi_network https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code#Joining_a_Wi%E2%80%91F...
- inetknght 2y ago> I don't want some complicated random password. It doesn't have to be complicated. A random passphrase can be much simpler and include significantly more entropy: four to six words plus a six-digit number. Any password generator worth a damn can generate something like this.
- joshstrange 2y agoCorrect! No need to horse around with passwords. A staple approach saves your mental battery.
- huang_chung 2y agoOpenWRT, the crown jewel of open source firmwares for "insecure" consumer routers, uses a blank (null) password by default with full root access.
- dylan604 2y agoNo device comes off the shelf with OpenWRT. If you're the type of person that's aware of OpenWRT and then install it, it's not that far of a stretch to think you'd also be the type to know to check the password.
- huang_chung 2y ago[flagged]
- dylan604 2y agoYour assumption is large. I am only thinking of a router with OpenWRT installed. Nothing about a wifi router with OpenWRT has anything to do with a door access device installed by a trained technician or not. The conversation only pertains to the words used, not the unwritten ones you're trying to insert in between the lines of my comment to make a totally unrelated point
- myself248 2y agoGL-inet devices come off the shelf with OpenWRT. They don't have a blank password. Every single one ships with 'goodlife' as the default password, as printed on the label on the back. (But remote ssh login is disabled by default.)
- dylan604 2y agoThanks. I was unaware of that company.