The last time I tried explaining my aunt on how to connect to a WiFi network, she fumbled, got confused and ultimately gave up on it. Such a simple thing, I felt, but many still feel illiterate in this context. Moreover, every device has a slightly different interface for connecting to WiFi. Are we doing something wrong? Are we designing stuff for a particular demographic and ignoring the perils of the rest?
Connecting to WiFi is almost synonymous to connecting to Internet and it should be simple. Dead simple! Is there a simpler solution to this problem? Yes, behold NFC! (Near Field Communication)
What if all WiFi routers and devices came with NFC! Every WiFi Router shall come with a Fob / Tag that the router can configure when touched and subsequently when we touch the same Fob to a WiFi enabled device, it can read the SSID and passkey from the Fob and connect to the said network.
This setup has three advantages. Firstly, its dead simple for everyone to connect their devices to WiFi. (Think grandmother!) Secondly, since the passkeys are auto-generated, they are inherently random and secure, eliminating a host of vulnerabilities arising from easy to guess passkeys. And finally, we can now easily connect devices without displays and keypads (think refrigerators, ovens, lamps, ACs, etc.) to Wifi, with the touch of a Fob. How cool is that!
Connecting to WiFi is almost synonymous to connecting to Internet and it should be simple. Dead simple! Is there a simpler solution to this problem? Yes, behold NFC! (Near Field Communication)
What if all WiFi routers and devices came with NFC! Every WiFi Router shall come with a Fob / Tag that the router can configure when touched and subsequently when we touch the same Fob to a WiFi enabled device, it can read the SSID and passkey from the Fob and connect to the said network.
This setup has three advantages. Firstly, its dead simple for everyone to connect their devices to WiFi. (Think grandmother!) Secondly, since the passkeys are auto-generated, they are inherently random and secure, eliminating a host of vulnerabilities arising from easy to guess passkeys. And finally, we can now easily connect devices without displays and keypads (think refrigerators, ovens, lamps, ACs, etc.) to Wifi, with the touch of a Fob. How cool is that!
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