Create creative names and passwords for your WiFi
Your home WiFi network can be an opportunity to show your personality and get creative. When neighbors and your visitors search for wireless connections in the area, they will see the name you have chosen. Sure, it’s not as obvious to passersby as exterior paint or landscaping, but it’s definitely part of how your neighbors perceive you. If you live in a crowded apartment complex, you may only be known by the volume of your music and the name of your WiFi. A creative password is also essential to make sure your connection is secure and private. Follow these tips to set up an epic local network connection.
Get creative with the name.
Do not leave the default string of letters and numbers. While it may appear to be keeping the connection anonymous, anyone looking at the signal strength on your device can guess. Walk down the street with your phone looking for connections and you can reliably identify most houses on the block, just by the strength of the signal as it peaks and fades away. Like the email address you first created in high school, the wireless router is an opportunity for non-professional creativity to flourish. Even if you only want to get a pair of breasts with parentheses and dots, only the neighbors can judge you. Consider referencing pop culture or your favorite book series, and you may become the coolest person at the next block party.
Some people use their network name as a way to send messages to neighbors, which can seem passive aggressive. “PickUpYourDogPoo” can make neighbors who share your frustration laugh, but someone who is offended could respond in unpredictable ways. To get a more consistent positive response, stick to puns and pop culture like “Hide Yo Kids Hide Yo WiFi.”
Get creative (in the right way) with the password.
When creating passwords for your different online accounts, you must often include capital letters, numbers, and symbols. The result is that people have been trained to think of passwords as variations of single words. However, replacing an “at” with the letter “a” does not make a password much more secure. In the same way, it is usually the first letter of a password that we write in capital letters. These passwords are also tedious to explain to guests, as you have to explain all the substitutions and which letters are capitalized. Instead of relying on numbers and symbols, think of a string of three random words. Unrelated words are much more difficult to guess than the usual substitutions and password variations. Ideally, your WiFi password should be very difficult to guess and very easy to explain to guests.
Keep these tips in mind when setting up your home wireless network, and your connection can give you a sense of warmth and accomplishment every time you sign up. The smart handle you haven’t used since AIM can give your entire neighborhood a laugh of fun. When you know you have a winning combo, get an additional antenna to boost signal strength throughout your home and beyond the street.