Most Common Passwords

Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:58PM EDT

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There are many articles on Yahoo! Tech regarding password security, but no matter what advice we get or receive, we're all most likely to choose a password we can remember. Unfortunately, cyberthieves know this weakness all too well, and try to hack into accounts just by using the most common passwords online first.

PCMagazine says these are the most commonly used passwords, so if yours is on the list, I recommend you change it immediately.

  1. password
  2. 123456
  3. qwerty
  4. abc123
  5. letmein
  6. monkey
  7. myspace 1
  8. password 1
  9. blink182
  10. (your first name)

I admit, I've used at least two of these passwords on my low-security accounts (newsites mainly), because as a rule of thumb, I don't ever give up important passwords even on these sites.

Becky Worley put together this password makeover post full of tips to help you choose a memorable password that will also keep the bad guys out of your accounts. She recommends sorting all your online accounts into three security levels (high, medium, low) then assigning appropriate passwords to each group. Obviously, the high-security password should be the hardest to crack since it gives you access to financial accounts. Remember to always avoid using your social security number or home address as a password. It may be easy to remember, but that also means it's easy for thieves to crack.

Chris Null gives us more good advise on how to pick a genuinely secure password on this post, and has a link to a database of more common passwords. Again, if your password is on the list, it's time for a password makeover.

Related:
Passwords 101
Password Makeover
How to Pick a Genuinely Secure Password
How Do They Crack Your Password?

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  • 1 Posted by shadowfax4269 on Tue May 1, 2007 11:16PM EDT Report Abuse

    I find a good way is to come up with a letter number combination that is easy to remember and that might actually mean something or spells out a phrase. For instance year ago I used one from an old computer game that was URABUTLN which translated into You are a beauty ellen which was easy for me to remember.

  • 2 Posted by faithasherman on Mon May 7, 2007 1:04AM EDT Report Abuse

    A good one to try is a animal and color combo like Magopony

  • 3 Posted by shortyc617 on Tue May 8, 2007 4:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    I use encripted passwords or if you have a password that is 32 characters password lists that hackers use can't crack a password that long. I know it seems crazy to use such a long password but it will be secure.

  • 4 Posted by kooltay18@sbcglobal.net on Wed May 16, 2007 6:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    What about your birthday in number form because many people use that, i suppose it would be easy to guess.

  • 5 Posted by jonnalagedda_ravi on Sun Aug 5, 2007 7:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    Or think of a word, and pick the characters to the left of it or below/above for Q/A/Z followed by a number, a letter and a punctuation and you will have the strongest password you can have.

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