We cannot stress enough the importance of using secure and unique passwords in your day-to-day life. Unique, complex passwords should be used to protect our social networks, bank accounts, email accounts and more. However, most Americans do not take great care in crafting these passwords.
For the past five years, password management company SplashData has compiled a list of the worst passwords from the year prior, examining more than two million passwords that were leaked and breached. In 2015, “123456” and “password” once again top the list as the most commonly used passwords.
In addition to thoughtless, keyboard-lazy passwords (like “111111” and “qwerty”), sports and pop culture references were also overused. “Football” was number seven on SplashData’s list, with “baseball” close behind at number 10. The Force also had a hand in some of the worst passwords of 2015, driving “princess,” “solo,” and “starwars” up the Top 25 list.
“As we see on the list, using common sports and pop culture terms is also a bad idea,” said Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData. “We hope that with more publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will take steps to strengthen their passwords and, most importantly, use different passwords for different websites.”
If your password(s) appear on this list, make a resolution to change them right now.
For the strongest passwords:
- Make sure your combinations are at least 12 characters long, and are a cryptic combination of letters and numbers.
- Take care to avoid your name, birthday, or pet’s name.
- Create a unique password for each site.
- Change your passwords a few times a year, and especially after being notified after a breach.
- Implement two-factor authentication for sites whenever possible.