A method and system for authenticating of the pairing of computing devices is described. In an example, a passphrase is established on computing devices. The pairing between two devices is initiated by a first device by communicating independently generated data, wherein the generated data is used along with the passphrase on each of the devices to derive a common pairing key. The pairing is authenticated by using at least a first portion of the common pairing key through a key exchange protocol. Further, a shared secret code is derived using a second portion of the common pairing key and stored to be used indirectly to secure future communication between the paired devices.