# Wi-Fi security

> How a Wi-Fi password keeps neighbors out and scrambles what travels through the air.

- Level: Intermediate
- Topics: Security, Networks
- URL: https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/wifi-security/
- In Spanish: [Seguridad Wi-Fi](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/es/wifi-security/)

Wi-Fi is radio, so anyone nearby can pick up the signal. **Wi-Fi security** is the set of standards that decides two things: who is allowed to join the network, and how the data flying between your device and the router is encrypted so that listeners only hear noise. The Wi-Fi password is the visible part of it.

The standards came in generations. **WEP** (1999) was the first, and its encryption was broken within a few years; today it offers almost no protection. **WPA** was a quick patch in 2003, and **WPA2** (2004) brought strong AES encryption and became the norm for over a decade. **WPA3** (2018) improves the weak spot of WPA2 at home: with WPA2, someone who records you connecting can try millions of password guesses on their own computer later, while WPA3 makes each guess require a live attempt against the router. WPA3 also protects past traffic even if the password leaks later.

For a home network, the practical rules are short. Use WPA3, or WPA2 with AES if some device cannot handle WPA3; never WEP or an open network. Pick a long passphrase rather than a short clever word. Change the router's admin password (it is not the same as the Wi-Fi one), keep its firmware updated and turn off **WPS**, the push-button pairing feature with a history of flaws. A separate guest network keeps visitors and cheap smart gadgets away from your laptops.

## An analogy

A conversation in a crowded square. The password decides who can join the circle, and the encryption is a private language the members speak, so passers-by hear sounds but no words.

## Keep in mind

- Wi-Fi security controls who joins the network and encrypts the radio link.
- WEP is broken; WPA2 with AES is acceptable; WPA3 is the current standard.
- A long passphrase matters more than a clever short password.
- It only protects the hop to the router; on public networks, HTTPS or a VPN does the rest.

## Go deeper

- [Wi-Fi Protected Access on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi_Protected_Access)
- [Wi-Fi security (Wi-Fi Alliance)](https://www.wi-fi.org/discover-wi-fi/security)
- [Wired Equivalent Privacy on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy)

## Related terms

- [Wi-Fi](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/wi-fi/): Networking over radio waves: the internet without the cable, within a few rooms.
- [Router](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/router/): The box that connects your devices to each other and to the internet.
- [Encryption](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/encryption/): Scrambling data so that only someone with the key can read it.
- [Firmware](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/firmware/): Software built into a device to run its hardware, from routers to washing machines.
- [HTTPS](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/https/): The padlock in your browser: web traffic nobody in between can read.
- [VPN](https://tidbit.legios.com.ar/vpn/): An encrypted tunnel that sends all your traffic through another network first.