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Passphrase & Password - is there a difference

ljcox

Jul 10, 2010
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My wife recently purchased a Tablet & a Wireless Router.

We connected the Router DSL port to the telephone line & the Ethernet port to the PC via an Ethernet cable.

Then we used the setup Wizard in order to establish the PC to DSL and the Wireless Router to Tablet connections.

During the setup procedure, we were asked to enter a passphrase. The Wizard suggested a long & complicated automatically generated one.

So we used it on the assumption that it would make the wireless connection more secure than a shorter one.

Later in the procedure, we were asked to enter a password. So we entered an 8 character alpha numeric password. However, in order to access the Internet from the Tablet, it is necessary to use the passphrase rather than the password as the Tablet will not accept the password.

Everything we have read is confusing. Some seem to imply that the password and passphrase are the same. But others seem to imply that they are different. See the attachment for example.

It is tedious to have to enter the long & complicated passphrase from the Tablet.

Any assistance will be appreciated.
 

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Harald Kapp

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Nov 17, 2011
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Password and passphrase are as far as I know used synonymously. To me, passphrase suggest a longer code than passwort. But you can have long passwords and short passphrases, too.

During the setup of your tablet you've probably come across two different pass-somethings.

One password (I'll stick to this term) is required to access you WIFI network. Typically the password is set in the WIFI router or access point, whátever you use. It is meant to keep others off your network.This password is remembered by the tablet and normally you will not need to enter it a second time. Therefore a long password increases security.

A second passsword may be required to unlock the tablet for use. This second password is required everytime you want to use the tablet. You'll have to remember it. Here you have to achiev a balance between a short password, easy to remember but easy to hack, too, and a long password, hard to remmeber, but also hard to hack - unless it is so long you can't remember it and write it down :D
 

ljcox

Jul 10, 2010
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Thanks for the prompt response.

That's what I thought. But I did not understand why the Wizard asked for passphrase at one point & then a password later. Thus we did not know what to enter when the Tablet asked for a password to access the internet. After some trial & error, we found it wanted the long one. So we don't know why the Router Wizard asked for the password.

She does not have a password to use the Tablet.
 

jpanhalt

Nov 12, 2013
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I set up a network like that recently with mostly NetGear stuff. I suspect the designers chose two terms to make it easier on the user.

Think about it. What if only the term, "password" were used. Then the user would always be left wondering about context. That is, is this where I use password #1 or password #2? Of course, the designers could have chosen other identifiers, such as longpassword and shortpassword, but passphrase is easy enough.

As Harald suggests, the password is something I must enter and is supposedly secret. For my wireless network, the passphrase is used far less often and is written down.

John
 

kpatz

Feb 24, 2014
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The router likely has two passwords/phrases: one for the WiFi security (WPA2 hopefully as it's the most secure) and is needed for devices such as your tablet to connect to the network. The other is likely to gain access to the administration pages on the router (to change settings, etc.).

Most devices, once you've connected and entered the passphrase, will remember it and you won't need to enter it again unless it's changed or you explicitly disconnect (and tell the device to "forget" the network).

Passphrases are generally longer than passwords, and are more secure for that reason, even though they are more or less synonymous. By saying "enter a passphrase", that encourages the user to use something longer than just a word, thus making their network a little more secure.
 
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