Where is the network security key on the router? And How it helps ensure that data remains secure.
Where Is Network Security Key on Router?
A wireless network (or Wi-Fi) password is the key to keeping intruders out of your network. And the key to the wireless network password is the network security key on your router. That’s why it’s important not just to know where the network security key is but also how to change it if needed.
The network security key is a shared secret between routers and wireless devices. This includes computers, printers, smartphones, and tablets. It’s used for authentication, also known as a secure handshake, or as an encryption key for data transmission.
There are two types of network security keys: one is a device-specific password that you should never lose. The other is a network key that is programmed into your router by default. You can find your device-specific password in your device’s manual or on its label under the barcode.
SSID and Wireless Encryption Key Integration
It should have something like WPA-PSK written on it. This password can be referred to as a wireless password, WiFi password, or wireless encryption key. For example, the SSID for my home wireless network is “MyHomeWiFi” and its default password is “MyHomeWiFi”.
The former is my router’s name for my home wireless network. Also, the latter is my router’s default password for that specific wireless network name (SSID). Your router’s default network security key has something like “key1” or “admin” written on it under the barcode.
You can also refer to it as an administrator password, access code, or access key. What if for example, you buy a Netgear N600 Wireless Dual Band Router WNDR3700v2. Then the default password (or key) will be admin/password with no spaces between character sets.
While if you buy a Linksys E900 Wireless-N300 Router with 3-Antennas – Certified Refurbished, then its default password will be admin/Linksys. For most routers, especially those made by Linksys and Netgear, you can easily find their default passwords online. Yet there are few routers out there that don’t use any default passwords at all.
So, you need to reset them back to their factory settings before you can use them. But don’t worry! I’ll cover how to reset these routers back to their factory settings in another post.
Protocol Address Registry
If you want to access the router’s settings, then you would need to log in to the router’s web interface. There change in the network security key. To do this, you will need to find the default IP address of your router and then enter it into your browser’s address bar.
Finding the IP address of your router is easy. Because there are lots of websites online that can help you with that. Most importantly, there is an official one from Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
This is also known as the Internet Protocol Address Registry. Although both of the passwords are important and should be changed regularly. Hence, the network security key is more important because it’s used for authentication.