Is Your Password On The List of Worst Passwords?
The need for passwords has only grown over the years. With every credit card, bank and investment account, insurance, social media, email account and even the DMV a user ID and password is needed if you want to access your information on these systems.
Too many of us have been using simple passwords for too long. These are passwords that even a novice hacker can figure out and apparently do so on a regular basis. If this sounds like you then perhaps you should take a look at Splash Data’s list of the 100 worst passwords in 2018.
Here’s a list of the top 25 worst passwords
- 123456
- password
- 123456789
- 12345678
- 12345
- 111111
- 1234567
- sunshine
- qwerty
- iloveyou
- princess
- admin
- welcome
- 666666
- abc123
- football
- 123123
- monkey
- 654321
- !@#$%^&*
- charlie
- aa123456
- donald
- password1
- qwerty123
Not a good idea
Using special characters within a password is always a good idea, but holding down the Shift key and entering all the special characters in the row of keys sequentially, like in number 20 on the list, is not so good. Sequential numbers are also not a good idea. First names and common words should also be avoided.
Password Generator
A good secure password generator like the one at PasswordsGenerator.Net is a great tool for quickly creating secure passwords. These days you really need 16 characters in a password for it to be considered “Strong”.
So how do you remember all of these long uniques passwords? The short answer is you don’t, or you can’t. One method is to create a password protected spreadsheet that is named something other than “My Passwords”. Create a field for the company name, user ID, Password, URL to the login page, and Q&A fields for security Q&A. I would store this on a thumb drive that is only connected to your computer when you need it.
PasswordsGenerator.Net also provides a comprehensive list of 39 steps you can use to keep your passwords safe.
Conclusion
Online nefarious individuals are not playing games. They will use your accounts for their purposes and leave you scratching your head once you realize your privacy has been compromised. Be proactive, manage your passwords, and most of all, be safe.
More on the topic: How to Unlock Chrome OS using a PIN Code
