25 worst passwords of 2011

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bynsky
bynsky Posts: 15,837 Member
in Chit-Chat
If you use any of these, you might want to rethink your options...

1. password
(Come on, people!)

2. 123456
(Criminals find counting as easy as you do.)

3. 12345678
(This isn’t any better.)

4. qwerty
(Don’t fool yourself, this won’t trick savvy thieves!)

5. abc123
(Now you know your ABCs, and so do the criminals.)

6. monkey
(Don’t act like one by using this password.)

7. 1234567
(Again with the counting…)

8. letmein
(Nice try, but not tricky enough.)

9. trustno1
(Don’t trust this password either.)

10. dragon
(Criminals will slay this password in a second.)

11. baseball
(This may be America’s favorite pastime, but it’s also popular with criminals.)

12. 111111
(You will definitely be #1 with criminals.)

13. iloveyou
(… and criminals will love you back.)

14. master
(This password will make you a criminal’s slave.)

15. sunshine
(Your sky will cloud up once your account is hacked.)

16. ashley
(Hello all you Ashleys, don’t use your name as a password!)

17. bailey
(See “ashley.”)

18. passw0rd
(You’ve gotta get trickier than that!)

19. shadow
(You’ll soon be under a criminal’s shadow if you use this one!)

20. 123123
(Not as subtle as some people think.)

21. 654321
(Scarcely better.)

22. superman
(Your account will get hacked faster than a speeding bullet!)

23. qazwsx
(See “qwerty.”)

24. michael
(see “ashley.”)

25. football
(Criminals will tackle this password in no time.)
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Replies

  • ScatteredThoughts
    ScatteredThoughts Posts: 3,562 Member
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.
  • BrettWithPKU
    BrettWithPKU Posts: 575 Member
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    "1-2-3-4-5? That's the stupidest combination I've ever heard of in my life! That's the kinda thing an idiot would have on his luggage!"
    -Spaceballs
  • JPod279
    JPod279 Posts: 722 Member
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    The problem with PWs are that there are so many required now adays and everyone wants something different that the only way to remember them all is to write them down, wich defeats the purpose. Especailly when you have to change them every 30 or 90 days.
  • leomom72
    leomom72 Posts: 1,797 Member
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    i dont get #4:indifferent:
  • BrettWithPKU
    BrettWithPKU Posts: 575 Member
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    What's your opinion on "P@55w0rD"?
  • JPod279
    JPod279 Posts: 722 Member
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have literally walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.

    I was at work once and a girl had left that worked with us and wasn't too bright. We needed a letter off her computer so I turned it on and tried her son's name as her PW. BINGO. Got in first try.
  • BigBeaver
    BigBeaver Posts: 858 Member
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    damnit, now I gotta go change 5 of my passwords
  • garnetsms
    garnetsms Posts: 10,018 Member
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    i dont get #4:indifferent:

    Its the first 6 letters on the left top row
  • BrettWithPKU
    BrettWithPKU Posts: 575 Member
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    i dont get #4:indifferent:

    The standard keyboard in the United States is called "QWERTY" because the top row, left to right, begins with the letters Q-W-E-R-T-Y.
  • Eaglesfanintn
    Eaglesfanintn Posts: 813 Member
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    When my mother in law died, she had a laptop that I'm guessing she used twice - once to set up a password and once to try to login again and gave up when she couldn't remember it. I tried her dog's name - worked like a charm.
  • sarahmaryfearnley
    sarahmaryfearnley Posts: 366 Member
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    I recently learned a new trick from IT to make more secure passwords. It's so simple, I can't believe I didn't know this. Pick a sentance that has meaning for you and then use the first letter of each word as the password. Adding capitals and numbers will make it even better.

    e.g. Sarah joined MFP in 2011 and has lost 8 pounds = SjMFPi2011ahl8p

    using a sentance about who is in your family, when you were married, or when you graduated is super easy to remember.

    PS - the above is not ANY of my passwords :)
  • loseweightjames
    loseweightjames Posts: 365
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.

    is it bad that my password is my desktop background?
  • jljohnson
    jljohnson Posts: 719 Member
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.

    I work in IT too, and have users that pick a word (kid's name, motorcycle model, product name, company name, etc.) then put a number after it. When it expires they just increase the number by 1. When I go to help them, I can usually guess the password in 2-3 tries. Unless they have it on a post-it on their desk... then I just log in.
  • Krissy366
    Krissy366 Posts: 458 Member
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    I read something recently (wish I could remember where) that basically said that all of those "security" requirements for passwords (use a capital, and a number and symbol) make all passwords MORE hackable than if we were all advised to pick a random series of 3 unrelated words. It basically said that with a special program a hacker can hack those 'secure" passwords in (I want to say) a couple of hours, but a random series of words would take more than 500 years with the same program. It was interesting.
  • mickipedia
    mickipedia Posts: 889 Member
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.

    is it bad that my password is my desktop background?

    No because they'd have to be on your computer to see it =D

    I personally use the batch number of a pack of staples that were sat on my desk the first time I used a computer.. Same one ever since and the beauty is no one can ever remember it no matter how many times I tell them as its a random combination of letters and numbers =D
  • jljohnson
    jljohnson Posts: 719 Member
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    What's your opinion on "P@55w0rD"?

    Generally speaking, I think this is a decent way to make a password - has caps, lowercase, numbers and symbols. However, I wouldn't use the word "password" Pick something original and use the same method.
  • MrEmoticon
    MrEmoticon Posts: 275 Member
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    I hate the fact that we have to change our passwords every 3 months. Mine is pretty secure.
  • kd_mazur
    kd_mazur Posts: 569 Member
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.

    I work in IT too, and have users that pick a word (kid's name, motorcycle model, product name, company name, etc.) then put a number after it. When it expires they just increase the number by 1. When I go to help them, I can usually guess the password in 2-3 tries. Unless they have it on a post-it on their desk... then I just log in.

    I am guilty of the post it:blushing:
    But seriously if my 15 different passwords would just change all at the same time rather than at different intervals I would have a much better chance of actually remembering the one I need:/
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
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    As someone who works in IT, it scares me some of the passwords I have seen. I have walked up to a desk, picked a word from a poster on the wall, and been able to log in to their computer with it.

    is it bad that my password is my desktop background?
    If you're in an environment where people see that background while walking by, then yeah, probably bad.

    Also, it won't help you much if you've put it there so you can see it if you forget your password.

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