Metro Weekly

“Password” no longer most popular password, something equally as stupid is

C’mon, people. For every security blunder at a major firm that leads to millions of users’ passwords being leaked, there’s hundreds of thousands of other instances where thiefs and ne’er-do-wells can digitally waltz into a person’s online data due to ridiculously inept password choices. It doesn’t take a computer genius to try Password1, or your last name backwards, which is why so many sites now suggest or demand a more robust password choice.

That’s why it’s ridiculous to see so many people still using horrendously obvious passwords. Thanks to the major leaks and hacks of 2013 — Adobe, anyone?SplashData were able to collate a list of the year’s most popular password choices. For the first time since time immemorial, “password” is no longer the favored option for those seaking to seal their data.

Nope, instead, the second-most obvious choice has moved into first place. Welcome, people, the new idiot’s password of choice: “123456”.

Look, passwords can be tough if you don’t have a great memory, but it’s so easy to create a strong one. Instead of complex strings of letters and numbers, pick a series of four words that you will remember — “charismauniquenessnervetalent”, for instance, is going to be much harder to crack and is the format recommended by many security professionals. XKCD outlined it in one of their infamous comics, for those who need a visual explanation.

Remember: passwords are tough, but rebuilding a digital life or refilling a bank account after a hacker takes control of it is much tougher.

The top 10 passwords:

1.  123456
2.  password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. 123456789
7. 111111
8. 1234567
9. iloveyou
10.  adobe123
Rank
Password
Change from 2012
1
123456
Up 1
2
password
Down 1
3
12345678
Unchanged
4
qwerty
Up 1
5
abc123
Down 1
6
123456789
New
7
111111
Up 2
8
1234567
Up 5
9
iloveyou
Up 2
10
adobe123
New
11
123123
Up 5
12
admin
New
13
1234567890
New
14
letmein
Down 7
15
photoshop
New
16
1234
New
17
monkey
Down 11
18
shadow
Unchanged
19
sunshine
Down 5
20
12345
New
21
password1
Up 4
22
princess
New
23
azerty
New
24
trustno1
Down 12
25
000000
New

Also, shout out to anyone who got the RuPaul reference. You’re officially awesome.

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