If your password is on this list, change it immediately

marry 15.11.2024, 10:30 AM

NordPass has announced its annual list of the world’s most popular passwords, and for the second year in a row, the password “123456” topped the infamous list of the most uncreative passwords as the most used password.

The same password has been at the top of this list five out of six times since NordPass published it, with the exception of the 2022 list, when an equally famous password – “password” – was in the leading position. But these annual lists always include passwords like QWERTY, ABC and 123, which people still believe can protect their most personal information.

Many users choose passwords like “iloveyou” or “fuckyou”. For some, passwords are a reflection of their interests, and many opt for names as passwords. Some are fooled into thinking “P@ssw0rd” is an original idea, not knowing that it takes less than a second to crack.

Of course, there are variations when it comes to the most commonly used passwords in different countries. For example, the first places in Finland and Hungary are occupied by the passwords “salasana” and “jelszo”, but when translated it is clear that they are the same passwords – both mean “password”.

To create its list, NordPass uses a 2.5 TB database from “publicly available sources”, some of which were found on the dark web. Many of these passwords take milliseconds for a hacker to crack, so if your password is on this list, you should replace it with something a little more creative.

In the list of 10 globally most used passwords are 123456, 123456789, 12345678, password, qwerty123, qwerty1, 111111, 12345, secret and 123123.

If the lists of the top 10 passwords for personal and business accounts are compared, it is noticeable that they are almost identical, indicating that people tend to rely on the same weak passwords both at home and at work.

The password should be at least 20 characters long and contain upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols, NordPass says. Avoid easy-to-guess passwords such as birthdays, names, or common words. You should not use the same password for multiple sites or services. If one account is compromised, other accounts can be compromised as well.

Photo: Miguel Á. Padriñán | Pexels