A strong password is always important, whether It is for online accounts or devices like the router. However, a current evaluation shows that many users use insecure passwords that are extremely easy to guess or crack. Here are the top 10 most common & insecure passwords for a router.
Many router owners use insecure passwords to protect administrator access to their devices. This is shown by an analysis by the security firm Eset. According to the company, several thousand of over 100,000 scanned routers still use standard passwords.
For its analysis, Eset accessed telemetry data from the Eset network scanner, which checks the password security of the devices. According to Eset, these are the most popular common/weak router passwords:
1. admin
2. root
3. 1234
4. guest
5. password
6. 12345
7. support
8. great
9. Admin
10. passport
Why Should You Protect Your Router Access?
Such passwords can be pre-set as default passwords on routers. In combination with a login name which is usually ‘admin’ or ‘root’, users can easily access the router settings. Here users can make changes to the router, like assigning new passwords for their WLAN or see which devices are in the network. In the same way, strangers or even hackers may also be able to access other data in your network if your password is not strong.
How Could Attackers Crack Your Password?
Criminals can create so-called password lists and run them through in the event of an attack. The system then checks all passwords in the list until it has access to the device. Depending on the level of security of the password, this can take a few hours or even many years until the correct password is found.
By the way, anyone can find Internet-capable devices such as routers or smart lamps using the Shodan search engine. It searches the network for publicly accessible devices with open ports. The software is intended for security analysts, but criminal hackers also like to use it.
What Does a Secure Password Look Like? – How to Choose a Secure Password
To prevent unauthorized access, users should assign a secure password. The following rule for a safe password applies – The longer, the better. Use special characters and capital letters too. You can change the router password in the settings. To do this, open the browser and enter the address of the router. You can access many devices with the IP ‘ 192.168.0.1 ‘ in the address bar. If that doesn’t work, it’s best to take a look at the instructions for your router.
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When you have entered the correct IP address, the login window to your router will open. You can usually find the login data on the device itself or in the instructions. After you have logged in, you can change the password in the settings. Choose a strong password and stay safe.