25 Worst Passwords

Here is a good tip:
Choosing “password” as your online password is not a good idea. Unless that is you want to make yourself an easy target for hackers. According to a recent report it ranks as the very worst password you could choose.

“Password” comes in at number one on password management application provider SplashData’s annual list of worst internet passwords, which are ordered by how common they are. (“Passw0rd,” with a number zero instead of the letter o, isn’t much better, ranking at number 18 on the list.)

Many of the passwords listed are what you might expect: Numbers or letters close to each other on the keyboard, such as “qwerty” and “123456,” and names, such as “ashley” and “michael,” ranking 16 an 24 respectively are popular choices. But others, like “monkey” and “shadow,” coming in at 6th and 19th place leave us wondering what is going on in the collective unconscious.

With many websites asking now for 6 or 8 character alphanumeric passwords, it is not surprising that “abc123? and “trustno1,” rank at 5th and 9th most popular.

The SplashData list created the rankings from millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. The complete list is:

• 1. password
• 2. 123456
• 3.12345678
• 4. qwerty
• 5. abc123
• 6. monkey
• 7. 1234567
• 8. letmein
• 9. trustno1
• 10. dragon
• 11. baseball
• 12. 111111
• 13. iloveyou
• 14. master
• 15. sunshine
• 16. ashley
• 17. bailey
• 18. passw0rd
• 19. shadow
• 20. 123123
• 21. 654321
• 22. superman
• 23. qazwsx
• 24. michael
• 25. football

SplashData CEO Morgan Slain encourages anyone using any password on the list to change them immediately.

“Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords,” he says. “Even though people are encouraged to select secure, strong passwords, many people continue to choose weak, easy-to-guess ones, placing themselves at risk from fraud and identity theft.

SplashData offered these tips for choosing secure passwords in a statement:

• 1. Vary different types of characters in your passwords; include numbers, letters and special characters when possible.
• 2. Choose passwords of eight characters or more. Separate short words with spaces or underscores.
• 3. Don’t use the same password and username combination for multiple websites.
• Use an online password manager to keep track of your different accounts.