XPost: alt.comp.os.windows-11, alt.comp.os.windows-10   
   From: marian@dumbshits.com   
      
   On 28 Nov 2025 15:12:22 GMT, Frank Slootweg wrote:   
      
   >   There are two passwords: 1) The one to access the web UI of the   
   > modem/router and 2) the password for your WiFi network.   
   >   
   >   1) probably should be unique, but must not be unique, because it's   
   > only accessed from your (hardwired or/and wireless) network.   
   >   
   >   2) is unique as shipped from / installed by the ISP, but as soon as   
   > you change the SSID (your WiFi network name) it can be anything you   
   > like, provided it matches the rules defined by the router and is   
   > sufficiently secure.   
      
   I'm sure almost everyone knows the two credentials, but I'm not sure if the   
   OP is aware of the differences between them...   
      
   1. The admin "password" to the router is sometimes (often?) limited   
      to 8 characters (at least it is on some of my older Netgear routers)   
      and it may require uppercase,lowercase & funky characters (as my   
      Netgear routers require), so you're limited in your choices.   
      
   2. The SSID "passphrase" to the access point, can be 8?63 characters   
      for WPA2/WPA3, which can be resistant to brute-force attacks.   
      
   I suspect most people aren't aware of oublic rainblow hash tables, which   
   take advantage of the fact that WPA2 uses PBKDF2 (Password-Based Key   
   Derivation Function 2) with HMAC-SHA1 to stretch the passphrase into a   
   256-bit key. Butterfly hash tables also exist, which are a specialized   
   structure that optimizes lookup and reduces memory usage compared to   
   traditional rainbow tables.   
      
   They're only effective if the attacker can guess the SSID, because the SSID   
   is part of the salt in WPA2 key derivation. That's why you want your SSID   
   not to show up in a dictionary lookup, as then you have no AP security.   
      
   WPA3's SAE (Simultaneous Authentication of Equals) protocol makes those   
   tables obsolete, but for most of us, what all this means is we should   
   simply choose an SSID that isn't found in typical dictionary lookup tables.   
      
   Something like "gibberis_plus_more_gibberish_optout_nomap" for example.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)