After all the recent hacks in 2014, you would think people would change up their passwords. Even though big companies like Target, Snapchat and Sony Entertainment were the victims in the breach of digital security it doesn't mean that the average Joe is immune to being hacked either.
Luckily, SplashData released the annual list of worst passwords. SpalshData's annual list contains the most common passwords, which makes them the most unsafe to use.
According to more than three million leaked passwords from 2014,"123456" is still the most commonly hacked password, even after it was named the most popular password the year before.
More embarrassingly, "password" ranked number two this year on the list of worst passwords, followed by "12345," (how original) "12345678" and "qwerty."
Seriously, it's time to change your passwords if you are still using a "123" sequence.
On a brighter note, fewer people are using bad passwords compared to the year before. Nine passwords that made the list in 2013 fell from the ranking in 2014, "iloveyou" being one of them. However, some interesting picks made the list this year such as "batman" and "696969."
"Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are," says CEO of SplashData Morgan Slain. "Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences. As more websites require stronger passwords or combinations of letters and numbers, longer keyboard patterns are becoming common passwords, and they are still not secure."
SplashData suggests creating a password with at least eight characters, making sure to include letters and numbers. Don't use easy-to-guess words such as anything related to your favorite sport. You also don't want to use your birth year. And Internet users also shouldn't use the same password for everything. Just think about the damage a hacker can do if they realize your Facebook password is the same as your bank password.
Without further ado, here are SplashData's "Worst Passwords of 2014"
1. 123456 (Unchanged from 2013)
2. password (Unchanged)
3. 12345 (Up 17)
4. 12345678 (Down 1)
5. qwerty (Down 1)
6. 1234567890 (Unchanged)
7. 1234 (Up 9)
8. baseball (New)
9. dragon (New)
10. football (New)
11. 1234567 (Down 4)
12. monkey (Up 5)
13. letmein (Up 1)
14. abc123 (Down 9)
15. 111111 (Down 8)
16. mustang (New)
17. access (New)
18. shadow (Unchanged)
19. master (New)
20. michael (New)
21. superman (New)
22. 696969 (New)
23. 123123 (Down 12)
24. batman (New)
25. trustno1 (Down 1)
[Photo Credit: Marc Falardeau/Flickr]
