What are the most commonly used passwords?

SplashData is one of the world’s well-renowned password managers and internet security firm. It annually releases a list of most commonly used passwords of the year. And it has recently released one of 2018.

The list is packed with the same-old, same-old predictable passwords. Like, as mentioned, “123456789” “qwerty” and “password”. But there are also some new and surprising additions to it. For instance, “donald” is now among the top 25 most commonly used passwords in the world. “!@#$%^&” is another interesting addition in the list, making its debut along with ‘donald’.

(Courtesy: LAMSARI Store)

Also read: How do I manage and remember so many different passwords?

Here’s the complete list of most commonly used passwords of 2018, according to SplashData:

1. 123456

2. 2 password

3. 123456789

4. 12345678

5. 12345

6. 111111

7. 1234567

8. sunshine

9. qwerty

10. iloveyou

11. princess

12. admin

13. welcome

14. 666666

15. abc123

16. football

17. 123123

18. monkey

19. 654321

20. !@#$%^&*

21. charlie

22. aa123456

23. donald

24. password1

25. qwerty123

SplashData has compiled a list of about 100 worst passwords of 2018, which also includes “whatever” “lakers” “ashley” “banana” “blahblah” “maverick” “starwars” “letmein” and “george”.

Check out the complete list here.

Are you one of those who has such common (and poor) passwords for your online profile? Change them immediately. Here are some tips to come up with strong, un-hackable passwords:

1. Make your convenience to remember and type the password the LAST of your priorities. Consider security as your foremost concern.

2. Use different passwords for different profiles/accounts.

3. NEVER share your password with anyone—not with your family, not with your friends, and certainly not with your partner.

4. Use the combination of lowercase, uppercase, alphabets, numbers, and characters.

5. Make it of at least 8 characters long. 12 is usually considered ideal.

6. AVOID, at all cost, the names and dates of your favorite person, movie, anniversaries, sweets and other common guesses.

7. Start using any good password manager if you have too many online accounts and you’re finding it difficult to remember the passwords.

8. Change your password very often. Leaks are happening regularly these days. So, to be on the safer side, irrespective of how strong your passwords are, change them regularly.

(Courtesy: Techfreek.com)

Remember, your online profiles are like a closet, packing all your information. The password is your key. Don’t lose this key.

Meanwhile, back when the internet wasn’t very prevalent and online hackers wasn’t a popular phrase, we had Cosmo Kramer. Check this funny video from Seinfeld of how Kramer guesses George’s password: