Stop using these stupid, stupid passwords immediately

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Stop using these stupid, stupid passwords immediately
"Another fool who used 'password.' Time to harvest some credit card numbers."
Photo: Nikita Belokhonov/Pexels

Some people simply can’t stop using stupid, weak passwords. An analysis of the phrases used to secure various accounts in 2022 finds that “password” was used 4.9 million times, making it the most popular. And the rest of the top 10 are all easily guessed, too.

Also, using “tinder” as your Tinder password isn’t nearly as clever as you think it is. Many thousands of other people had the same idea.

Stupid passwords that crooks can guess in less than a second

Using a weak account password makes as much sense as posting your credit card number on a sign in your front yard. Using an easily guessed word practically invites crooks to steal from you.

And yet, researchers at NordPass found no shortage of terrible passwords in the company’s list of 2022’s most common ones. The list includes a ton of entries that can be guessed in less than a second, like “123456,” “qwerty” and “password1.”

“The number one password in the U.S. — ‘guest’ — is also trending worldwide, along with other pre-configured passwords such as ‘welcome,'” the researchers said.

Using your favorite sports team as your password is not much better. Both “liverpool” and “arsenal” show up near the top of the global list of most-used passwords.

Using a pop culture reference proves just as big a mistake. People used “batman” 2,562,776 times, according to NordPass, making it another obvious guess for criminals.

Password managers offer more security

People choose terrible passwords because they’re easy to remember. But a password manager takes the hassle out of using strong passwords. A password manager also makes it easy to avoid another common problem: reusing passwords. Utilizing the same password — even a strong one — on multiple websites is a big no-no.

Luckily for Apple fans, iPhone, iPad and Mac all come with one built-in for your safety and convenience.

Apple’s iCloud Keychain can suggest strong passwords, share them across a user’s Apple devices, and automatically fill them in on websites and applications. It also makes it easy to find out if a user’s passwords showed up in data leaks so they can be changed.

If that’s not enough, Apple is working to kill the password completely and replace it with biometric security.

Source: NordPass

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