We all try our best to keep our online accounts safe. By creating passwords that (we think) are secure and original, we believe our credit lines, bank accounts and more are safe from illicit activity. What’s more, if your company gets hacked, you put your customers in danger, too.
The problem is, a lot of people don’t take the time to really make their passwords that, well, secret. Thanks to Engadget, we could see the 25 most popular passwords from 2015. None of which were that original (change in position from 2014 in parentheses):
1. 123456 (Unchanged)
2. password (Unchanged)
3. 12345678 (Up one)
4. qwerty (Up one)
5. 12345 (Down two)
6. 123456789 (Unchanged)
7. football (Up three)
8. 1234 (Down one)
9. 1234567 (Up two)
10. baseball (Down two)
11. welcome (New)
12. 1234567890 (New)
13. abc123 (Up one)
14. 111111 (Up one)
15. 1qaz2wsx (New)
16. dragon (Down seven)
17. master (Up two)
18. monkey (Down six)
19. letmein (Down six)
20. login (New)
21. princess (New)
22. qwertyuiop (New)
23. solo (New)
24. passw0rd (New)
25. starwars (New)
By now, even not-tech-savvy people know not to use “password” or “123456” as their passwords, right? Well, considering the top two on this list haven’t changed since 2014, it seems that some people haven’t learned their lesson.
NextAdvisor had useful insight for those looking to tighten up their online security. Here are the key takeaways:
- Always use numbers in your password (other than 12345). Combine numbers and letters.
- Using numbers in place of letters isn’t a foolproof plan. When you use numbers to replicate letters in a basic password (like changing “password” to “pa55word”) you’re still setting yourself up for trouble.
- Don’t reuse passwords. This should be a no-brainer, but, of course, it’s easier to remember one password than 10. But, if you choose the same password for everything, you’re more likely to get all accounts compromised.
- Finally, it’s best to enable two-factor authentication. Basically, this prevents people who don’t have physical access to your devices, like a smartphone or laptop, from accessing accounts.
So, in summation, don’t make your password “monkey” or “m0nkey” or “monk3y” or even “m0nk3y.” Use different passwords for different accounts. Enable two-factor authentication when you can.
