How to Change My Spectrum WiFi Password to a Strong One

We probably all know well that users' accounts can get hacked. Usually, cyber attacks take place against users' personal accounts, be it an account on a social media website like Facebook or an account at an online store, due to weak passwords used. Also, Internet users still fail to understand how important it is to keep their passwords safe. While reliable password managers are available on the market, many people still tend to keep their passwords written down on a yellow sticky note attached to their PCs screens. As the saying goes, old habits die hard.

According to 2016 Data Breach Investigation Report issued by Verizon Enterprise, 63% of all known data breaches resulted from weak or stolen passwords. While cybercriminals are no doubt the ones to blame here, Internet users themselves are partially responsible for these cyber attacks too since they do not apply appropriate security measures to maintain their virtual security even though they know well how important it is to do that. Cybercriminals are not going to stop performing attacks against Internet users. Personal credentials are like a holy grail for them – 91% of phishing attacks in recent years were targeted at user credentials.

It is no longer a surprise that poorly protected online accounts may get hacked; however, people still choose to ignore the fact that their WiFi networks may get hacked as well. According to researchers from Team Cymru, at least 300,000 home routers from popular vendors, including D-Link, Tenda, TP-Link, and others have been hacked recently. These hacked devices no doubt pose a risk to anyone using the Internet connection, so just like it is important to secure all online accounts that contain a great amount of personal information, users must ensure the security of their WiFi routers as well. Security measures applied may not guarantee complete safety since there is no such thing as hack-proof or hacker-proof, but they can considerably help to reduce the risk of a cyber attack.

There are some things any user can do to protect his/her network. First of all, if you are not using WiFi Protected Access (WPA2) encryption yet, you should consider upgrading to WPA2. By doing so, you will shut the door you have been keeping wide open to cybercriminals for so long. It should be noted that you may not be able to do that on older routers unless you upgrade their firmware. Second, it is advisable not to use default network names (SSID). If you keep Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, or a similar name set by a manufacturer, you will make it easier for cybercriminals to hack your network since they could employ existing rainbow tables associated with particular SSID names in an attempt to crack your WiFi router's password. Last but not least, it is extremely important to turn on a built-in Firewall on your router. Finally, make sure you change a password set on your WiFi router to a secure one to discourage any hacking attempts.

Spectrum (cable television, Internet, and landline telephone service provider) users are not immune to hacking as well. You may feel safe using Spectrum WiFi at home, but, believe us, you are not. If you give cybercriminals an opportunity to hack your WiFi modem or router, they will take it without consideration. As the saying goes, opportunity makes a thief. While so many attacks stem from the use of weak passwords, our first piece of advice for you would be to learn how to change Spectrum WiFi password and then take immediate action. Changing a password should not be a hard task, but this simple action can considerably improve your privacy and the overall virtual security. You can change a password used with a few steps – check the step-by-step instructions provided below. Keep in mind that a password change is a must also if you suspect that it could have fallen into the lap of unauthorized people, let's say your friendly-looking neighbor with a batch of cookies who paid a visit to you last week.

How to change Spectrum WiFi password

1. Connect your PC to your WiFi modem.
2. Type http://192.168.0.1 in your web browser's URL bar.
3. Hit Enter.
4. Enter a username and password combination provided for you as default Spectrum modem credentials.
5. Select WiFi from the settings menu.
6. Type your new WiFi password into the field.
7. You can also set a new WiFi name here.
8. Save the changes applied.

Your new password cannot be weak. It is pointless to change a password used to a new password that is as weak as the previous one because it will not ensure the security of your WiFi network. Security specialists recommend that a new password would be at least 8 characters long, but the more characters it has, the more secure it is. Also, you must change a password you currently use to the new one that contains a mix of upper-case/lower-case letters, numbers, symbols, and, if possible, special characters. The password system is not flawless. Theoretically, even the most secure passwords can be hacked, but the more complex the password, the longer it will take to crack it. For example, a weak password abcdefg consisting of 7 characters can be hacked within 0.29 milliseconds, whereas it might take up to a century to hack complex passwords. In most cases, hackers do not even bother hacking such passwords since so many weak ones that can be cracked within seconds are used around.

It may be quite a challenge to come up with a secure Spectrum WiFi password, so we do not suggest that you generate it manually. Cyclonis Password Manager, trusted software for managing passwords, can generate a password for you automatically in no time for free. You just need to install the application on your PC and then access its Password Generator (Tools > Password Generator). It will allow you to select the type of the password, set the desirable password length, and it will even inform you about the generated password's complexity in percentage. Your only task will be to change an outdated password to a secure one that has been generated for you. Complex passwords are not easy to remember, we have to admit, so if you fear you could not remember a changed password too, you should save it as a note using Cyclonis Password Manager (Wallet > Private Notes > New Note). You could access it at any time as long as you remember a master password.

No system and no device is impenetrable, but a hardened defense might send hackers to look for an easier target, so please do not put off changing your credentials to more secure ones until tomorrow. You can prevent the most sophisticated cyber attacks targeted at you by simply changing passwords used. While putting yourself in a self-protective bubble may not work in the virtual world, using strong credentials might be an effective solution you have been looking for so long.