The Most Common Passwords Of All Time

A majority of online users have very strange conception regarding passwords and how secure it should be. What takes to create a strrong password that’s hard to guess for anyone ? Even you mom, girlfriend and colleagues ?

90% of users do not bother choosing a secure and difficult to guess password for their Email, Facebook, Twitter and other accounts. And this is the reason why you often encounter questions e.g My Gmail account was compromised, My Facebook username and password isn’t working anymore and so on.

Some of the common mistakes while choosing passwords can be way childish, such as:

1. Choosing 123456 – come on, what ? Anyone can guess that in no time at all.
2. Using my phone number as password – Yes, it’s easy to remember but almo bear in mind that your friends can use that information to gain access to your Email or Facebook accounts.
3. I will combine my nickname and my date of birth – Okay, fair enough. But still, these credentials do not make a strong password either.

Zonealarm has created a wonderful infographic which illustrates the 100 most common passwords list.

Some facts and figures regarding passwords:

• 26 % users choose passwords of length not more than 6 characters.
• 25 % of users choose their first name as passwords.
• Some passwords are way too common which can be guessed by anyone. E.g 123456, Ashley etc.

Tips For Creating A Strong Password

We have discussed these tips so many times but those who have missed the earlier tips, can follow 5 golden rules for choosing safe and hard to guess passwords:

1. Never use common names, numbers, telephone numbers, credit card numbers and easily guessable phrases as passwords.
2. Never write down any of your passwords on paper. If you must write them down, use a password card.
3. Always use numbers, symbols and mix alpha-numeric characters to create a strong and difficult to guess password
4.  Test your password with a password checker
5. Change your passwords regularly or use a password manager application.

Related tips:
1. How to create one time passwords for WordPress
2. How to remember a complex password