LOS GATOS, CA – SplashData has announced its annual list of the 25 most
common passwords found on the Internet. For the first time since
SplashData began compiling its annual list, "password" has lost its
title as the most common and therefore Worst Password, and two-time
runner-up "123456" took the dubious honor. "Password" fell to #2.
According to SplashData, this year's list was influenced by the large
number of passwords from Adobe users posted online by security
consulting firm Stricture Consulting Group following Adobe's well
publicized security breach.
"Seeing passwords like 'adobe123' and 'photoshop' on this list offers a
good reminder not to base your password on the name of the website or
application you are accessing," says Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData.
SplashData's list of frequently used passwords shows that many people
continue to put themselves at risk by using weak, easily guessable
passwords. Some other passwords in the Top Ten include "qwerty,"
"abc123," "111111," and "iloveyou."
"Another interesting aspect of this year's list is that more short
numerical passwords showed up even though websites are starting to
enforce stronger password policies," Slain said. For example, new to
this year's list are simple and easily guessable passwords like "1234"
at #16, "12345" at #20, and "000000" at #25.
SplashData, provider of the SplashID Safe line of password management
applications, releases its annual list in an effort to encourage the
adoption of stronger passwords. "As always, we hope that with more
publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will
start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger
passwords and using different passwords for different websites."
Presenting SplashData's "Worst Passwords of 2013":
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
|
sunshine
|
Up 2
|
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
|
SplashData's top 25 list was compiled from files containing millions of
stolen passwords posted online during the previous year. The company
advises consumers or businesses using any of the passwords on the list
to change them immediately.
SplashData suggests making passwords more secure with these tips:
Use passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of
characters. But even passwords with common substitutions like "dr4mat1c"
can be vulnerable to attackers' increasingly sophisticated technology,
and random combinations like "j%7K&yPx$" can be difficult to
remember. One way to create more secure passwords that are easy to
recall is to use passphrases -- short words with spaces or other
characters separating them. It's best to use random words rather than
common phrases. For example, "cakes years birthday" or
"smiles_light_skip?"
Avoid using the same username/password combination for multiple websites. Especially risky is using the same password for entertainment sites that you do for online email, social networking, or financial service sites. Use different passwords for each new website or service you sign up for.
Having trouble remembering all those different strong passwords? Try
using a password manager application that organizes and protects
passwords and can automatically log you into websites. There are
numerous applications available, but choose one with a strong track
record of reliability and security like SplashID Safe, which has a 10
year history and over 1 million users. SplashID Safe has versions available for Windows and Mac as well as smartphones and tablet devices.
Source: SplashData
Source: SplashData
