In today’s digital era, Passwords are becoming increasingly valuable in our lives as they grant access to our sensitive information. From unlocking our social media accounts and apps to bank accounts, passwords are very important. So, it is always advised to use strong passwords containing a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols for better security of accounts. However, some users just don’t seem to learn this fact, as an annual report from SplashData suggests. Many people continue to use weak passwords that are easily guessed.
Passwords solutions company called SplashData prepares a list of top 100 passwords based on the millions of aggregating passwords leaked in data breaches during the past year. Apparently, more than five million passwords were leaked by hackers in 2017.
Continuing its streak for the seventh year, ‘123456’ and ‘password’ again topped the worst passwords on this year’s list.
The list suggests that people are using several variations of the first nine digits, sports and film titles as their passwords, as they are easy to remember. Interestingly, the recently released Star Wars: The Last Jedi has influenced many people’s choice of passwords such as ‘starwars.’
“Unfortunately, while the newest episode may be a fantastic addition to the Star Wars franchise, ‘starwars’ is a dangerous password to use. Hackers are using common terms from pop culture and sports to break into accounts online because they know many people are using those easy-to-remember words,” SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said in a press release.
Here are the top 20 worst passwords and how they have fared compared to last year. ‘New’ signifies that the password did not appear on last year’s list.
- 123456 (Unchanged)
- Password (Unchanged)
- 12345678 (+1)
- qwerty (+2)
- 12345 (-2)
- 123456789 (New)
- letmein (New)
- 1234567 (Unchanged)
- football (-4)
- iloveyou (New)
- admin (+4)
- welcome (Unchanged)
- monkey (New)
- login (-3)
- abc123 (-1)
- starwars (New)
- 123123 (New)
- dragon (+1)
- passw0rd (-1)
- master (+1)
If you are using any of the password showing in the above list, we suggest you change your password immediately.
The recent years have witnessed a surge in hackings and data breaches, which has raised concerns regarding security online. Internet users have been time and again advised to use solid passwords.
If you are having trouble coming up with solid passwords, remember using a password manager such as 1Password, which can generate secure passwords and store them online. Further, password apps like Safari, SplashID, and LastPass can also offer built-in password generation. Alternatively, you can also use two-factor authentication, which will send a text with a code or use an app to verify your log-in.
View SplashData’s complete list Here: Top 100 Worst Passwords of 2017 (Update: Sorry, this link is broken or unavailble.)
