+++ Monday  3 November 2025 +++

Entering WiFi passwords
=======================

Entering WiFi passwords is not my hobby.

Often they are very long, computer generated alphanumeric strings,
mixing upper case and lower case.

Which is great as a password, but not fun to enter.

This becomes worse when the WiFi password has to be entered in
something else than a file using the editor.

There are forms where the input is shown as stars. This at least
gives the feedback that you have actually entered a character.
Until, in some environments, until you have reached a certain number
of characters, and the display of new stars stops.

The programmer (or the marketing department) apparently didn't
anticipate that WiFi passwords tends to be quite long.

Also there are environments that give no feedback at all.
Here you are typing in the dark. No way to say how many chars you
have entered, and when backspacing how many chars you backspaced.

Features that protect against shoulder surfing are useful. But how
often do we enter a WiFi password, and what is the chance of
somebody shoulder surfing?

Very often, when we enter a WiFi password, there is no risk of
shoulder surfing.

F.e, you rented an apartment, and on the inside of a cupboard door
in the kitchen is a paper which states the WiFi password. Perhaps it
is made with a label writer, or handwritten. Depending on the number
of devices you brought with you, smartphone, tablet, and so on, you
have to enter this password multiple times, every time without
proper feedback of the characters you have typed.

Another example: You are installing NetBSD on a laptop and have to
enter the WiFi password. There is no feedback at all, you are typing
in the blind.

In most situations where one enters a WiFi password in a device the
chances of shoulder surfing are negligible. Please offer at least a
choice between displaying the entered text in the clear or not...


Last edited: $Date: 2025/11/03 18:56:08 $