The most common passwords used in 2011 have been published – incredibly by the hackers using them – and show a frightening array of people using the same passwords across all platforms for ease of use.
It’s easily done and something we’ve all done at one point – particularly in the early days of the internet when security was nowhere near as much of an issue as it is now.
So here comes the list (source: SplashData inc) – if your password features on it, it’s definitely time to change!
- password
- 123456
- 12345678
- qwerty
- abc123
- monkey
- 1234567
- letmein
- trustno1
- dragon
- baseball
- 111111
- iloveyou
- master
- sunshine
- ashley
- bailey
- passw0rd
- shadow
- 123123
- 654321
- superman
- qazwsx
- michael
- football
Also you should try not to use things directly related to you – for example your favourite football team. If you feel you have to, then put a random number in there too to make it that bit harder for people to figure out.
Some other useful tips include:
- Make passwords eight characters or more, with a mix of characters, letters, numbers, symbols.
- Separate short words with spaces or other characters, e.g., “drink tea at 3!” (not all sites allow spaces in passwords however)
- Don’t use the same username/password combination for multiple websites.
- Use a password manager if you have trouble remembering your passwords. SplashData makes one called SplashID Safe.
Need more help? Drop me a line at matt@mattdavismedia.co.uk
