The 25 ‘worst’ passwords you could possibly use


The 25 ‘worst’ passwords you could possibly use

THERE are certain passwords, that if used, are the equivalent of handing over your login details to a hacker. These ones should be avoided at all costs.

APRIL 12, 2018 10:40PM

According to Queensland Police, if you answered “yes” to any of the above or “password” is your password, then you’re one of many and “unfortunately this makes you particularly vulnerable online”.

“If you use a password based on a name, it can be easily broken,” a Queensland Police statement issued today read.

“Hackers know many people use passwords starting with a capital letter and often use the same password across many sites.

“Once a hacker works it out, they can gain access to them all.”

The warning was issued because police are being “bombarded with news of scams, people being defrauded of their financial futures, and the loss of their businesses or employment through financial crimes,” police said.

Financial crime or fraud is estimated to cost Australia over $8.5 billion annually.

SplashData, a password management provider, recently released its annual list of “Worst Passwords of the Year” using data from 5 million leaked passwords from users in North America and Western Europe.

The worst passwords in 2017 included some repeat offenders and completely new terms. The first and second most used passwords were the same as the year prior: “123456” and “Password,” respectively. While “12345” went down two spots to the number 5 slot, “123456789” was a new addition at number 8.

FULL LIST OF THE “WORST” PASSWORDS IN 2017, according to SplashData

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. Maste

21. Hello

22. Freedom

23. Whatever

24. Qazwsx

25. Trustno1

QLD Police today warned people “it’s time to reset your passwords” for people who use any of those on the list.

“If you get stuck on how to create a stronger password try using at least 12 characters and include symbols such as $,?,% @ in random places to make it more difficult to be broken,” QLD Police advised in a statement.

“It may be harder to remember, but consider the alternative.

“Losing your personal data, account details or a sum of money is much more inconvenient in the long run.

“Remember, only you should be in control of your passwords.”

SplashData estimated that almost 10 per cent of people have used at least one of the 25 worst passwords on the 2017 list, and nearly three per cent of people have used the worst password, 123456.

Stealing personal data is a popular pastime of online hackers.
Stealing personal data is a popular pastime of online hackers.Source:Getty Images

The company noted that the past few years have been particularly devastating for data security, with a number of well-publicised hacks, — Equifax, Dropbox, and the SEC — attacks, ransoms, and even extortion attempts.

According to SplashData, the key to creating a strong password is to use at least 12 characters with a combination of upper and lower case letters and characters. Experts also advise to avoid personal information, common words and importantly, re-used passwords.



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