TIL that the Verizon FIOS wifi router has a backdoor that allows Verizon to display your wifi password, in cleartext on your profile page on their website. Shocking breach of both trust and security, all to make their lives a bit easier when people call their customer support to recover their password.

just the fact that they have sufficient access to even inspect the router like that is concerning

There is a rule in the firewall that allows this, and you can't turn it off

Don't use wifi routers from internet providers...

Seriously

The Internet providers are always surprised when I refuse to let them give me a wifi router. "All I want is the best modem you've got, I'll handle the network, thanks!"

They don't show it if I disconnect the router, so that is evidence towards the idea that at least they're not caching the password in their database

Yeah the Spectrum guy kept going on about using their modems/router combo 🙄

Well they can't, the whole purpose here is to help people who can't remember their wifi password and gum up their support channels with "what is my password" requests

hard device reset?

my new internet provider didn't let me get just a modem 😞

I'm just going to not use their router

Obviously the only solution is to make your password extremely offensive, then call and ask what it is 😛

I used to have some slightly offensive answers for security questions. Then I had to repeat them out loud to a human being on the phone once. Now I randomly generate them all. Still weird, but not as embarrassing to read aloud.