Security → WiFi

I like to use WiFi a lot and I would like to know the ideal password length for security and ease of entering.

I would say if you use a random password with at least 20 characters you will be reasonably safe to use your wifi as you wish. Random meaning upper, lower case, numbers and symbols....

I usually recommend GRC as they have a decent random generator.
Of course they pump out 64 characters. Just put in on a stick and then you wont have to memorize.

I've never been an advocate of the long random passphrase value. People will disupute this, but just because that advice is given out a lot of places doesn't make it right for everyone or absolutely incontrovertibly true.

A long random value is meant to discourage brute force attacks. But a dictionary attack is the much more likely risk than a brute force attack. And you can counter being dictionaried by using a reasonable length, "plain english" value with some special characters and numerals substituted. As long as it's not going to be in a hacker's dictionary, it's fine.

The incremental security benefit going from something you can easily communicate to a guest to a long, completely random value that has to be committed to a piece of paper is small while the convenience tradeoff is steep.

I am a believer in semi long passwords ,upper and lower case, plus numbers and symbols, but not long. I usually use 8,10, or 16, but no more. And, yes, I also use a generator. My feeling is that it is more the use of the combinations than the length.

Believe.......... so its a religion then. ;-P

Anything less than 15 is wasting your time.

I do use generated random passwords for websites (in conjunction with Password Safe »passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/) but for wifi passphrases no. If you've ever been at someone's home and had to read some long value off the bottom of their router or a piece of paper you know what I'm talking about with the convenience tradeoff.

All security is relative. Relative to the value of the thing you're protecting, relative to the threats and relative to their likelihood of being realized. Having the wifi passphrase I use here is going to effectively keep my neighbors off my WLAN just fine. I can see the sordid security state of the other access points around here and if anyone actually came in range with the tools and the intent to do over the air cracking there are plenty of easier targets around.

Now if you want to tell your mother in law when she brings her laptop over that the wifi passphrase is this 50 character long series of goobledygook and that makes you sleep better at night, that's your prerogative and good luck with it.

Naw I just use something like grandmahas11Hairytoes!

Does your grandma approve that? :P

No, no, no. You just don't understand. The long, completely random value that is too difficult to communicate to a 'guest' is priceless.

I never said that anything more wouldn't be OK too. Specifically, I have added to the length of many of my passwords so am probably at about 16 to 20 now myself, since Heartbleed, but I have operated for years with mostly up to 15, and luckily, I have not had a problem. The only religion I have is a belief in a Higher Being. No program can come close to that!

I use a 40 character password for the main wifi network. I can type it from memory, no problem. If I have guests I turn on the guest network which has a easily communicated password, something not too long. When the guests are gone the guest network is shut down. When I restart it the next time it gets a new password. The guest network is isolated from the main.

My wifi has 18 characters with letters, numbers and characters. It's something I can easily remember as well.