Cracking Wi-Fi passwords: how students can protect themselves

Today the Internet is available to everyone. But sometimes you need it urgently, but you can’t get access to it. This is the case when your account has run out of money, mobile Internet is slow, or your wi-fi doesn’t work for some reason.

If the network connection is needed only for entertainment, you can wait. But if you need the Internet for an academic assignment, then sitting and waiting is not an option. In this case, many students wonder if someone can do my essay for me, while unscrupulous people get out of the situation in a cunning way: stealing wi-fi.

Let’s tell you how neighbors can access your Internet without a password, and what to do to increase protection.

A simple and honest way to connect to someone else’s wi-fi

If you look at the list of available wi-fi points on your smartphone or laptop, you can find many connections. Most likely, at least one of them will turn out to be unprotected. It can be the free Wi-Fi of the nearest café, hairdresser, or someone kind and generous, who does not spare anything for the students of the dormitory. To find the network on your laptop, just click the Wi-Fi icon on the taskbar. On a smartphone, go to settings and click on Wi-Fi in the list. The device will display all the working points.

Some, on the other hand, turn on communication, charm, and directly ask for help. If your neighbors urgently need the Internet, they will come to you with chocolates or nuts. The main thing is to ask them not to be cheeky and not to clog up the channel with their traffic unnecessarily.

A clever way to connect to your neighbor’s Wi-Fi

If the previous options don’t work, the intruder can resort to trickery. To close access to wi-fi, password and encryption protocols are used. But any system has weaknesses, so bypassing the protection can be done by cunning and clever people.

How an intruder can find out your Wi-Fi password

If simply asking is not an option, the password cracker will have to resort to not very honest methods. 

Guess Many people don’t bother encrypting their data, so their passwords are very simple: 1111, 2222, or 12345. Many people put their cell phone number, date of birth, or first or last name on their passwords. The first thing an intruder does is try these combinations.

If there is no desire to share wi-fi with neighbors, come up with a more complicated password. Let it be a meaningless combination of letters in different registers, not the group number or the year of admission to the university.

• Use a special program

Some applications help in finding passwords. For example, Aircrack-ng. This is a free program, which is a set of utilities for analyzing wi-fi networks than can be very useful and honest people. Unfortunately, in addition to helping, it can steal data. The app detects the security level of a particular network and finds its weaknesses. The hacking is done through the use of a dictionary of passwords. The program works on Windows and macOS platforms. A malicious hacker can use CommView for Wi-Fi together with AirCrack.

The process of finding a password, even using special software, can take a long time. If someone urgently needs access to the Internet, he’d rather run to the nearest cafe, order a cup of tea, and gain access to the network legally.

Here are some tips on how to avoid hacking your wi-fi password with special software:

• Choose the strongest encryption method. That one has not yet had time to pick up the key – for example, WPA2 PSK.
• Use the automatic update of the router, and do not activate the remote access function. This is what creates security holes.
• Use a static IP and deactivate DHCP. The latter will only make manual network configuration possible. Of course, this measure will also cause you some inconvenience: you will have to enter all data manually.

How to connect to Wi-Fi without a password

Only someone who has direct access to the router can do this. There may be a special WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) button on the router. This button includes a setting that allows you to connect to the Wi-Fi network without entering a password or via a standard pin. 

On some routers, the button is in the most prominent place, on others, it is carefully hidden. The router’s manual is sure to have information on how to properly activate the Wi-Fi Protected Setup. For example, you need to hold down the key for a few seconds or combine it with another button.

If you don’t want anyone (like a cheeky roommate) to use the network at your expense while you’re away, unplug the router and stash it in a secluded place. Lucky for those who live around kind and conscientious people, the neighborhood is not always pleasant. In order to avoid data theft, you should take security measures.

Disclaimers: This content is only for educational purpose.