25 Worst Online Passwords

I came across an interesting article via the Washington Post last week written by Zoe Fox.

In my role as a Virtual Assistant I manage a number of my clients online websites, social media sites etc and have to remember a variety of passwords so I found this article really worthwhile. 

Zoe explains why choosing ‘password’ as an online password is not a good idea:

‘In fact, unless you’re hoping to be an easy target for hackers, it’s the worst password you can possibly choose. “Password” ranks first on password management application provider Splash Data’s annual list of worst internet passwords, which are ordered by how common they are. (“Passw0rd,” with a numeral zero, isn’t much smarter, ranking 18th on the list.)’

Top 25 Worst Passwords:

Splash Data created the rankings based on millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. Here is the complete list, I wonder if you use any of these?  If you do then I suggest you try and change them as soon as possible!

•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

Tips for choosing a good password:

In the lead up to Christmas I seem to be forever racking my brain to work out which password I’ve used for which shopping site and I haven’t used some of these sites for several months.  I normally only have a couple of choices as I try to stick to the same password for numerous sites. 

Splash Data in the States provided some tips for choosing secure passwords in this article:

•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.

I hope you have found this information useful.   Do you need to alter any of your password choices?  Happy shopping!