We all have to keep so many passwords these days, it’s little wonder we tend to default to simple, easy-to-remember terms. Unfortunately, this is what makes so many passwords vulnerable. Every year, lists of frequently compromised passwords are put out, and more people find that their favorite passwords are neither as secure nor as unique as they thought.
According to a list of the worst passwords of 2017, the top 50 weakest passwords included some interesting terms. There were, of course, usual culprits like 12345678, password, letmein, login, and welcome, all in the top 15. Starting in 16th place, however, things got more fun with starwars, and dragon came in at number 18, showing that even geeky fandoms don’t necessarily make for strong passwords.
In spots 20 through 25, we found master, freedom, and trustno1, which would seem to indicate that even patriotism is fairly easily hacked. After that, the list goes into a series of names: robert, daniel, andrea, matthew, and several others, including joshua, which is likely used frequently as a reference to the movie War Games. A bit further on, the list goes into cars, sports, city names, and even a few profanities.
The surest way to create a strong password is to use a phrase instead of a single word, because the more characters involved, the harder it is to hack. And make sure to use numbers and special characters in your passwords, as well. Password managers are a great way to make sure all your passwords are strong, without the stress of having to remember them. It’s worth it to keep your personal data safe.
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