SplashData has released its annual list of world’s worst passwords to encourage users to create a stronger one.
The list was based on files containing several stolen passwords posted online last year. Among the list, majority were from Adobe users which were stolen in the multinational computer software company’s well-publicized security breach in 2012.
For the longest time, “password” was listed as the worst password in the world. Surprisingly, in the latest annual list, “password” is spotted in the #2 slot, making “123456” the top on the list now.
“12345678” is still on the third spot, followed by “qwerty,” “abc123,” the new comer “123456789,” “111111,” “1234567,” “iloveyou,” and another new comer “adobe123.” Other new comers include “photoshop,” “azerty,” and “000000.”
Splashdata CEO Morgan Slain said in the company blog post, “Seeing passwords like 'adobe123' and 'photoshop' on this list offers a good reminder not to base your password on the name of the website or application you are accessing.”
“Another interesting aspect of this year's list is that more short numerical passwords showed up even though websites are starting to enforce stronger password policies,” he added.
By posting this list, the company hopes to inform users how unsafe it is to use weak and guessable passwords. It also hopes that more users will start taking serious security measures to protect themselves.
Users can protect themselves by using different stronger passwords for different websites. If one is having difficulty remembering passwords, users can utilize a reliable password manager application that manages and keeps safe passwords and can automatically log you into websites.
According to Splashdata, users can opt to use a minimum of eight alphanumeric characters. However, since passwords with common substitutions like “4ppl3pi3s” can still be susceptible to attacks and random combinations like “p*l@f%&” can be difficult to remember, users can try using passphrases like “sun_moon_stars” and “girl boy baby.”
Splashdata is the leading provider of password management applications for a decade now and the most trusted multi-platform password solution for both the consumer and enterprise markets with more than a million users globally.
