25 most commonly used passwords in 2013

LOS GATOS, CA – SplashData announced it’s annual list of the 25 most commonly used passwords

on the Internet.  This year we have a new 1st place winner – the password ‘password’ has lost first place, and has been passed by ‘123456’ – moving up from it’s 2nd place – two years in a row!

So why is it important to avoid these passwords? Well, this list was compiled from millions of stolen password – meaning, the criminals know these are most often used. This means that these are the FIRST passwords they will try to use if they are trying to break into your account … so…. DO NOT USE THESE PASSWORD!!

So – what are the all-important passwords to avoid?

SplashData + Computer Security Solutions suggests making passwords more secure with these tips:

First – NEVER use one of these “commonly used passwords” – they are so insecure that you almost have no security if you use one of these.

Use passwords of eight characters or more with mixed types of characters. But even passwords with common substitutions like “dr4mat1c” can be vulnerable to attackers’ increasingly sophisticated technology, and random combinations like “j%7K&yPx$” can be difficult to remember. One way to create more secure passwords that are easy to recall is to use passphrases — short words with spaces or other characters separating them. It’s best to use random words rather than common phrases. For example, “cakes years birthday” or “smiles_light_skip?”

Avoid using the same username/password combination for many different websites. Especially risky is using the same password for entertainment sites that you do for online email, social networking, or financial service sites. Use different passwords for each new website or service you sign up for.

Being secure means many passwords, and this is VERY difficult to manage. So – are you having trouble remembering all those different strong passwords?

We suggest using a password manager application that organizes and protects passwords and can automatically log you into websites. There are many different applications available, but choose one with a strong track record of reliability and security like SplashID Safe, which has a 10 year history and over 1 million users. SplashID Safe has versions available for Windows and Mac as well as smartphones and tablet devices.

Another good password manager is “LastPass” and there is a free edition. Notable in that it works well from a USB drive is “KeePass”

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