The Worst Passwords of 2018: Is it Time to Change Yours?

It’s that time of year when you need to start thinking about new year’s resolutions. If you are one of the many people around the world with low-security passwords, make a resolution to update them now!

According to SplashData, the company that makes password manager SplashID, many people are still using easy to guess passwords despite the warnings about Internet security and hacking.

In a study of  5 million leaked passwords from recent breaches, SplashData found that some common bad passwords that keep popping up include “123456,” “password,” “admin,” and “abc123.”

‘Donald’ make it to the list of worst passwords

Other terrible passwords that made it onto their top 25 of worst passwords are “donald,” “princess,” and “sunshine.” If you have a simple and easy to crack password, it is time for a change.

Is your password on the list? Here is a selection of some of the worst:

123456

password

123456789

12345678

12345

111111

1234567

sunshine

qwerty

iloveyou

Use a service to avoid mental password strain

Remembering passwords can be a pain though and there is nothing worse than having to spend time re-authenticating yourself every time you log in to a seldom-used service. Luckily there are lots of ways to have a secure password without having to have an elephant’s memory.

One way is by using a password manager. This collects your passwords and stores them securely in one place. You could try SplashData SplashID, the popular LastPass, or 1Password.

Password generator can add an additional level of security

An additional level of security is to use these services to generate a unique, strong password for when you sign up to a new service or update your weak password. Having a unique password for each service you login into means even if one’s gets breached your data in other places is safe.

Another level of security is to use two-factor authentication. This means when you login in, you need your password as well as an additional authentication factor, like a six- or eight-digit passcode to log in.

Hardware also an option to avoid phishing

The authentication code is sent either via text message or via an authentication app. Two-factor authentication is great for internet banking or other services that require higher security.

The other option to securely using the internet is to use an inexpensive hardware-based security key. A hardware key is a physical item that is either inserted into your device or is read via Bluetooth to give your password another level of protection.

Research a brand you trust online before committing to buy the useful piece of hardware. There is never a better time to make your presence online more secure than now! Change your passwords and do it regularly!