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?

Comments on Most Common Passwords

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  • 1 Posted by shadowfax4269 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:15PM 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 Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:58PM EDT Report Abuse

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

  • 3 Posted by shortyc617 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:21PM 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 Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:40PM 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.

  • 6 Posted by williamsrena on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    This isn't like the perfect article...I mean it's only common sense that we not use passwords that are dead giveaways! I acually know of a website where the password is 'password' but it's not this high security type stuff. But I've always felt like this, if you're wanting to do your personal business, then you should do it in person...just goes to show you that we're throwing all our time away so that we have just a little bit less to do with ourselves...

  • 7 Posted by nandez.jeff on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    Yeah, you're right! Though I don't think 'Blink182' password is a bad password.... But, thanks for information (advice)...!!!

  • 8 Posted by elizabethhorse on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:53PM EDT Report Abuse

    i will make sher no one gets in to my files because i hack in to other peoples acounts. so make suer that you people are carful my name i will not say. i am a mastermind and a scemer.

  • 9 Posted by ggombos19 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:08PM EDT Report Abuse

    Haha I know that in the past I did use password, because I thought it was so stupid that no one would ever guess it. Well I guess I was wrong!

  • 10 Posted by riverwest2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    i thought the worst password was one that was so hard to remember, you had to write it on a post-it & stick that on your monitor.

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