For the sixth year, SplashData has released its list of worst passwords.
According to SplashData, the list is based on over 5 million leaked passwords used by users in North America and Western Europe that were posted for sale online.
I thought it might be interesting to compare SplashData’s newest list with the top 25 most common password list released last week by rival firm Keeper Security. According to the two companies, these were the top 25 worst passwords people used in 2016:
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SplashData’s list of worst passwords in 2016 |
Keeper’s list of worst passwords in 2016 |
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1. 123456 |
1. 123456 |
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2. password |
2. 123456789 |
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3. 12345 |
3. qwerty |
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4. 12345678 |
4. 12345678 |
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5. football |
5. 111111 |
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6. qwerty |
6. 1234567890 |
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7. 1234567890 |
7. 1234567 |
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8. 1234567 |
8. password |
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9. princess |
9. 123123 |
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10. 1234 |
10. 987654321 |
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11. login |
11. qwertyuiop |
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12. welcome |
12. mynoob |
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13. solo |
13. 123321 |
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14. abc123 |
14. 666666 |
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15. admin |
15. 18atcskd2w |
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16. 121212 |
16. 7777777 |
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17. flower |
17. 1q2w3e4r |
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18. passw0rd |
18. 654321 |
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19. dragon |
19. 555555 |
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20. sunshine |
20. 3rjs1la7qe |
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21. master |
21. google |
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22. hottie |
22. 1q2w3e4r5t |
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23. loveme |
23. 123qwe |
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24. zaq1zaq1 |
24. zxcvbnm |
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25. password1 |
25. 1q2w3e |
While there are a few of the same passwords on both lists—123456, password, 12345678, 1234567890, 1234567—this gives you an overview of what two different companies claim are the most common passwords being used.
If your passwords are on either list, then congratulations, you are using one of the worst, most insecure passwords in the world. In fact, you are practically begging, “Hack me.” If that’s really what you want, you will probably get your wish if you keeping using the same pathetic passwords. Seriously, try a password manager, as there are many different choices and price options, including freebies.
SplashData noted, “Just over 10% of people use at least one of the 25 worst passwords on this year’s list, with nearly 4% of people using the worst password, 123456.”
While the list again contains Star Wars-themed passwords, “hottie”, “loveme”, and “flower” are newcomers to the list. As for “zaq1zaq1” – it’s a keyboard pattern, “from the left column on standard keyboards – demonstrating again the importance of avoiding simple patterns.”
Password has three variations on this year’s list. SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said, “Making minor modifications to an easily guessable password does not make it secure, and hackers will take advantage of these tendencies. Our hope is that by researching and putting out this list each year, people will realize how risky it is to use these common logins, and they will take steps to strengthen their passwords and use different passwords for different websites.”