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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