It is true that setting up a new password anywhere is such a nuisance with all the odd rules that one has to conform to in order to get an approval. But, it is all done for a purpose and that purpose is nothing but to protect you and your data from the cybercrime that is taking the world by a storm.
However, despite all of these warning, people around the world have continued to use the worst passwords ever such as, “123456”, for protecting their identity in the cyber world. It is down to this trend that password management company, SplashData came up with a compilation of the 25 most common passwords used in North America and Western Europe In 2017. This list was compiled on the basis of the 5 million passwords that were actually leaked by the hackers this year.
The weaker your account password is the more are the chances for a hacker to access your personal information like contacts, emails, banking details etc. It’s not that hard to create a strong password but the fact is that we are too ignorant to do so.
Here’s a look at the top 25 worst passwords of the year:
1. 123456
2. Password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. letmein
8. 1234567
9. football
10. iloveyou
11. admin
12. welcome
13. monkey
14. login
15. abc123
16. starwars
17. 123123
18. dragon
19. passw0rd
20. master
21. hello
22. freedom
23. whatever
24. qazwsx
25. trustno1
We urge you not to use such passwords ever again and if you are still operating the above listed or any other weaker password, then change it immediately.
A strong password should contain at least 14 characters. Spread numbers and symbols thought-out your password and it’s also advisable to use uppercase characters too. Remember, the stronger the password the harder it will be for hackers to penetrate in.
And the last piece of advice; make sure you use a unique and different password for each account you use. When you don’t use that same key for all your door locks then how could you use one single password for all your online accounts. Don’t compromise on your online security.
Source: SplashData