Millions of users still rely on weak easy-to-guess passwords
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Key notes
- If you want to keep your important data safe, then you need to make sure you use a strong password.
- Not surprisingly, many users use predictable passwords that hackers can easily find out.
- In order to avoid using weak passwords, there are a few factors to keep in mind.
- You should also use a reliable password manager to secure your important data and PC.
Using a reliable password is paramount if you want to keep your data safe. There have been numerous data leak and data breach reports in 2018, and using weak passwords only makes the job easier for hackers.
Despite the major data breaches that occurred this year, millions of users are still using easily-guessable passwords. SplashData recently revealed their annual list of Worst Passwords of the Year. Here’s what they found after looking at over 5 million passwords leaked on the Internet this year.
123456 passwords are still very popular
Two of the most popular passwords are still “123456” and, of course, “password“. The next places go to 123456 variations, such 123456789, 12345678, and 12345.
Other common passwords include: qwerty, iloveyou, princess, welcome, abc123, donald. Needless to say, if you use one of these passwords, then it’s time to change your password as soon as possible. Hopefully, your accounts have not been hacked yet.
According to SplashData, 10% of users have utilized at least one of the 25 weak passwords on this year’s list. Surprisingly, 3% of users relied on the almost standard 123456 password.
Such passwords significantly increase the risk of users being hacked and having their identities stolen by cyber criminals. Many such events took place in 2018 and here some of the most severe ones:
- Quora joins the list of big data companies to suffer breach
- Acer security breach compromises US credit card numbers and dates of expiry
- Alteryx personal data leak affects millions: Are you affected?
In case you want to be secure while surfing the internet, you will need to get a full-dedicated tool to secure your network. Install now Cyberghost VPN and secure yourself. It protects your PC from attacks while browsing, masks your IP address and blocks all unwanted access.
How to avoid weak passwords
Now that we’ve seen how important passwords are, here are a few tips to use in order to improve password security.
- Don’t use the same password on all your accounts.
- Use 15 character passwords and include special characters as well.
- Install an anti keylogger to prevent hackers from recording your key strokes.
- Download Efficient Password Manager Pro to fully secure your passwords. The tool also comes with a built-in password generator that automatically creates complex random passwords.
