World's 25 worst passwords

JeffH · February 09, 2014, 05:49:17 PM

A little out of date but, I suspect, not much has changed.

SplashData recently revealed the 25 most-used passwords. Check them out below to make sure yours isn't on the list!
password
123456
12345678
abc123
qwerty
monkey
letmein
dragon
111111
baseball
iloveyou
trustno1
1234567
sunshine
master
123123
welcome
shadow
ashley
football
jesus
michael
ninja
mustang
password1

So how did you go?

If your password made this list, or is a close variation of any of the ones on there, we definitely recommend you change it now. Pronto!

Fr45h3R · February 09, 2014, 06:24:30 PM

Mine isn't on there :angel:

I think password is too obvious, so I normally try passw0rd on an unsecured WIFI.

I've wondered if I used ********** as a password if it would confuse amateur hackers with their sniffers / decrypters.

-rob

keldaw · February 09, 2014, 06:31:02 PM

try it rob , stick it up um . ,, kel ,,

purplepennyhunter · February 09, 2014, 07:24:18 PM

Not completely off-topic...

trout · February 09, 2014, 07:52:17 PM

I have a case sensitive password that has kept me safe for the past 20 years :angel:

Basil · February 10, 2014, 10:07:41 AM

Same here,i've been very lucky so far.I was using Win 95 on the Internet from 1998 to around 2003/4 when i moved to XP as new Modem wouldn't work with 95.I used Zone Alarm & AVG free Firewall/Virus and as far as i know didn't pick up any bad bugs but i know plenty of people that did and had their computers crippled.

JeffH · February 10, 2014, 10:52:47 AM

How many passwords do you have? I have numerous -all based on combinations and permutations of a set of digits and letters. Often forget which one is which and have to try a few times to hit the right one.

And, I just thought of a blonde joke -yes, that one.

markn · February 10, 2014, 12:20:29 PM

Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='41287' dateline='1391991767'How many passwords do you have? I have numerous -all based on combinations and permutations of a set of digits and letters. Often forget which one is which and have to try a few times to hit the right one.

And, I just thought of a blonde joke -yes, that one.

I used to do exactly this. Unfortunately one of my web servers was hacked last weekend (nothing to do with the passwords) so whoever he/she was had access to plain text copies of various passwords. As a result I've resorted to using passwords comprising random numbers, letters, and cases. However with each web server requiring at least 6 different passwords plus all my own personal accounts there's no way anyone could remember them all. So, they are all written down in a notebook. Which of course is a security threat but no one could possibly remember all these passwords. I am more than a little miffed that some internet vandal has driven me to such inconvenience.

emu666 · February 10, 2014, 12:40:05 PM

Quote from: 'markn' pid='41296' dateline='1391997029'
Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='41287' dateline='1391991767'How many passwords do you have? I have numerous -all based on combinations and permutations of a set of digits and letters. Often forget which one is which and have to try a few times to hit the right one.

And, I just thought of a blonde joke -yes, that one.

I used to do exactly this. Unfortunately one of my web servers was hacked last weekend (nothing to do with the passwords) so whoever he/she was had access to plain text copies of various passwords. As a result I've resorted to using passwords comprising random numbers, letters, and cases. However with each web server requiring at least 6 different passwords plus all my own personal accounts there's no way anyone could remember them all. So, they are all written down in a notebook. Which of course is a security threat but no one could possibly remember all these passwords. I am more than a little miffed that some internet vandal has driven me to such inconvenience.

And you store the notebook in the safe, the combination of which is recorded in the notebook.

markn · February 10, 2014, 12:46:20 PM

Quote from: 'emu666' pid='41299' dateline='1391998205'And you store the notebook in the safe, the combination of which is recorded in the notebook.

Something like that. I wonder if these people who recommend using a different password for everything AND not writing them down have ever tried to do it. I guess I could get some software to store my passwords. And password protect it. And get some more software to store that password and password protect that. It's a never ending cycle of stupidity.

interest · February 10, 2014, 01:33:52 PM

Well when I saw that the password must have at least 7 characters.
I used...

Doc
Grumpy
Happy
Sleepy
Bashful
Sneezy
Dopey

But it took so long to type it in I gave that password away.
go back to "qwerty123"

Fulvio · February 10, 2014, 03:23:24 PM

Quote from: 'markn' pid='41300' dateline='1391998580'It's a never ending cycle of stupidity.

O top of which everybody seems to have a different idea of what the perfect password should look like, so you can't even use the one for everything. Therefore you end up with permutations, with caps, numerals, specials, all or differing lengths. Its enough that when forced to pick a new password over the phone by Optus, I carefully spelled out:

Capital F
*
*
*
zero
p
t
u
s
dot

Took a moment for it to sink in, but when it did... :angel:

Seriously, its MY security, I should be able to be as lax or anal about it as I choose to be. I actually use a range of about half a dozen at any one time, ranging from no password, one character, a four-letter word, all the way up to 10 random chars with all the trimmings, each matched to the risk/reward for that particular application. Nothing is written down or ever divulged, and I seldom have to resort to Keychain to look them up.

Quote from: 'purplepennyhunter' pid='41259' dateline='1391936058'Not completely off-topic...

Remember this?

Here's how to do it:

http://shkspr.mobi/blog/2013/03/howto-make-a-doctor-who-bells-of-st-john-style-wifi-name/

moderator edit ***

JeffH · February 10, 2014, 03:38:51 PM

Fulvio mentions Keychain.
I have never used a password manager but would be interested to see comments about these.

I do use Sticky Fields add on in Firefox. Probably slightly compromises my security but, boy, does it make life easier. It saves entries for log in pages and such and, mostly, automatically loads the inputs into the right sections.

Fulvio · February 10, 2014, 11:47:41 PM

Quote from: 'JeffH' pid='41314' dateline='1392008931'I have never used a password manager but would be interested to see comments about these.

Its been a core feature on Macs forever... couldn't live without it! Not so much for mainsteam accounts... email and such, which are a tiny portion of the 141 entries on this machine. But just try and remember six near-identical and infrequently visited TP-Link WiFi routers (plus 3 Optus, and 5 BigPong) without it!

interest · February 11, 2014, 12:30:52 AM

Over the years I have had 23 cars & motor bikes,
so I tend to use the rego numbers plus make & model numbers of my favourites.
I don't do online banking so hack away, nothing to be gained here.
The things that don't matter I use the same P/word for.
Easy for an old bloke like me to remember.
With Firefox it keeps a list of all userid's & passwords for you.