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Having a long password with numbers and/or punctuation marks is important. There is a reason why websites/companies/etc. recommend passwords suggest having one with those characteristics. However, many internet users may not be following these unofficial rules across their various accounts
Every year, SplashData, a company that creates password management applications, analyzes leaked passwords. This year, five million were leaked and analyzed and the company then places them in a list from least-to-most easily found. Morgan Slain, the company’s CEO, says the point of the lists isn’t for laughs, but to inform the average consumer why they should listen to recommendations.
Our hope by publishing this list each year is to convince people to take steps to protect themselves online, and we think these and other efforts are finally starting to pay off. We can tell that over the years people have begun moving toward more complex passwords, though they are still not going far enough as hackers can figure out simple alphanumeric patterns.
And, it turns out, most folks have the same passwords that fans of the Mel Brooks classic Spaceballs may find familiar.
At the top of the list is the wonderful “123456” which was also the ‘winner’ for the worst password of 2018. The results of the list are actually pretty funny, but also scary for those who may have those too-easy-to-remember codes. You can view the full lists here: 100 to 50 and 50 to 1.
SplashData released a list of the top 100 worst passwords of 2019 – The results are humorous but concerning
For those who are curious, here are the top 10 worst passwords of 2019.
- 123456
- 123456789
- qwerty
- password
- 1234567
- 12345678
- 12345
- iloveyou
- 111111
- 123123
If anyone is reading these lists and starts to think “Oh no, that’s mine” not to worry. There are ways to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Of course, make it longer than six characters and add a few numbers and other characters, but have different passwords for each account. A good idea is to make a l33t speak-type of password, like instead of using “batman” use “b@tm4n”.
Or, if you really want to stay secure, use something like LastPass or 1password to let the system generate random passwords for you that are stored and submitted when needed.
Most importantly, however, is don’t change it to be another one of these from the worst-of list. Just…don’t.
What do you think? Are any of your passwords on these lists? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
Editors’ Recommendations:
- Google Chrome has a new feature that tells you when your password has been stolen
- Your weak Disney+ passwords are already up for sale on hacking forums
- Facebook struggles to convince lawmakers why it constantly needs to track your location
- Ring security cams lack one major feature: security
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