Your Wi-Fi password is important to protect; after all, if it leaks out, people can hop on your network and do whatever they please with your internet connection. However, there are methods that people use to take your password and use your connection as they see fit.

Hackers know how to hack your Wi-Fi password. Here's how someone may attack your Wi-Fi, how they can steal your password, and what they can do with it.

Why Hackers Want Your Wi-Fi Password

If a hacker gets a hold of the password to your Wi-Fi network, they can use your internet connection to do whatever they want. This can range from using your data to stream videos and download files, to performing illegal activity.

Also, getting onto your router is the first step to accessing the devices on it. If you use network-connected hard drives, a hacker will be interested in sneaking into your router and taking a peek for sensitive information.

There are many ways a hacker can target a router, but we're focusing specifically on how they can get your Wi-Fi password. This method of attack requires the hacker to be physically near your home so they can use the password to connect to your Wi-Fi network.

But how near is "physically near?" If you've ever taken a laptop out into the garden, you've likely seen how, the further you go, the weaker the connection is. Eventually, you get no connection at all.

When someone wants to use your Wi-Fi network, they'll use this same connection. As such, their potential locations are limited to your neighbors, and perhaps the neighbors' neighbors. If you live in an apartment, the residences around you will likely have good connection strength to your Wi-Fi.

How Hackers Get Wi-Fi Passwords of Neighbors

If you wholly trust your neighbors, there's little reason to believe they'll try to hack your network. However, if you want to stay safe, let's check out the ways they may lay siege to your Wi-Fi network and how to protect yourself.

1. Cracking Open Insecure Passwords

If someone wants to crack open your password, they can try one of two methods. They can either begin guessing your password via brute force, or they can destroy the security algorithm.

If they choose the former method, the hacker is looking for a weak and unsecure password. You know the kind: the passwords that are just "opensesame" or "123456" or even just "password." These are very easy to break open and allows the hacker entry into the Wi-Fi network.

Fortunately, routers come pre-programmed with strong, unique passwords these days. As such, if you keep the default password, a hacker is far less likely to break in.

However, these routers also allow people to change the Wi-Fi password, potentially to something weaker. As such, if you or someone else changed the password to something simple, you may want to consider creating a stronger one.

If they can't guess the password, hackers can pry open weaker security algorithms. In general, the older the algorithm, the easier it is for a hacker to break into it.

At the very bottom of the barrel is WEP. This algorithm isn't used or even supported by most modern-day routers, but some older hardware will still use it. A hacker can use tools and crack open a WEP-secured router in an hour max.

On the other hand, you have WPA2 and WPA3. These take a long time (sometimes years) to crack open, so using either of those algorithms will prevent a hacker from busting in... at least for a very long time.

Related: WEP vs. WPA vs. WPA2 vs. WPA3: Wi-Fi Security Types Explained

2. Finding and Using the Default Router Password

A router with a lock
Image Credit: Ultraskrip/Shutterstock.com

If you haven't changed your router's password, a hacker can find out what it is and use it to gain access to your Wi-Fi. Fortunately, routers have come a long way since the "username: admin, password: admin" days; modern ones will have a generated, unique password with numbers, lower case, and upper case characters.

This feature means your router has a password that's tough to crack the moment you plug it in, with no additional effort from you. However, you still need to get into your own router, so the device will often have the default password printed on it somewhere.

While the password on the back of the router makes it easy to remember, it does also mean that your router is essentially broadcasting its own password. If you put your router by a window, people can peek in and see the password. Likewise, if a neighbor comes around to visit, they may take note of the code before they leave.

As such, be sure to take care of the default password. Either hide it away so people can't see it from the outside, or change the password to something unique and don't write it down.

3. Getting the Password Through Social Interaction

Image Credit: Albertiniz/Shutterstock.com

Let's say your neighbor comes around for a brief moment. They notice that they don't get a good data signal on their phone, so they ask you if they can hop on your Wi-Fi. You, being the good neighbor you are, tell them the password.

They may have legitimate problems getting a connection, or they may have just wanted to get your password in the first place. Either way, they now have your password stored on their phone, and they can now retrieve it later and use it for their other devices when they go back home.

The solution seems easy: just don't give out your password. However, if you don't give out your password, you'll feel like a terrible host when visitors need to use your internet.

The solution? Guest networks. These are "side networks" that broadcast alongside your main one. You then give your guests the password to connect to this side network.

Related: Reasons to Set Up a Guest Network on Your Router

The best bit is, you can reset the password on the guest network every so often to ensure nobody leeches off it. And you don't need to update your password on all of your devices, because they're all connected to the main network.

Wi-Fi Passwords: When In Doubt, Swap It Out!

We've made a pretty scary case for Wi-Fi hackers so far. After all, if someone does get your password, they can use your internet connection to perform illegal actions or steal data stored on your Wi-Fi connected hard drives.

But never forget that you have the upper hand when it comes to your own router. Because it's physically located in your house, you'll always have access to it and can thwart any hacker trying to abuse your internet connection.

For instance, modern-day routers can tell you how many devices are connected to it. You can see this information by logging into your router's settings and checking the network statistics. If any devices look suspicious, or there's a lot of data leaving the router where there shouldn't be, you can change the router password to lock out any hackers.

Related: How to Find Your Router's IP Address

You typically need an admin username and password to access your routers settings, and the password should be different from the Wi-Fi network's. As such, the hacker can't get into the settings, leaving you free to change the password without them interfering.

Even if the hacker does somehow get the admin password and locks you out, you still have physical access to the router. And a good router will have a factory reset button on it that will wipe everything the hacker does and lets you get your hardware back.

As such, you should be vigilant and protect your Wi-Fi router from hackers. However, at the same time, don't worry too much; it's easy to kick out any would-be internet thieves and get your network back.

Keeping Your Router Secure

Hackers want your Wi-Fi passwords for a few reasons. Fortunately, because of how Wi-Fi signals work, only the people in your immediate vicinity have the power to use it. As such, you can defend yourself accordingly and stop people creeping onto your router.

If you really want to lock down your router, there are plenty more things you can do on top of the above tips we've given you. From disabling WPS to changing the SSID, there's lots you can do to keep your router safe.

Image Credit: jijomathaidesigners/ Shutterstock.com