When you are in a hurry I bet you have used a weak password to just get in. Many people use common or weak passwords and easily get caught by hackers.
In the digital world, where you use online websites to buy things, put a lot of details out there. You have to be conscious about your passwords.
You have to understand how weak passwords can get you hacked and the hacker can steal your personal and bank information.
In this article, we will discover some weak passwords that you can look at and avoid using, and why people use such weak passwords, the time taken to crack a password, the tips and solutions you can find using a password manager.
Some Password Stats
- According to Hive Systems, it takes less than a second to hack an 8-character “numbers only” password.
- Movie streaming users often use weak passwords more than other popular websites.
- “123456” is the most commonly used password.
- Breaching passwords is becoming more difficult, but account security is still threatened by malware attacks, Researchers say.
- 18% of the most common items for sale on the dark web are online accounts, emails, and passwords, According to a NordVPN study.
- 100, is the no. of passwords an average user has, According to NordPass.
Sources: Hive Systems, NordPass, NordVPN
Why do people use common passwords?
Understanding why people use common passwords is a key to addressing this issue. Here are some possible reasons to look at.
- Lack of awareness: Many people aren’t that aware of using a strong password. They might be new using a smart device, or unaware of that. That’s why we have to educate ourselves and others to use strong passwords. This is the reason why we started Secured Side to raise awareness of people’s online security.
- Easy Memorization: Older generations often use weak or common passwords because they can remember their passwords. That’s why many of them are commonly used passwords, easy to crack, and simple. You can use a free password manager like NordPass to manage and secure your passwords.
- Lack of Creativity: Creating a strong password can be frustrating. You have to make a password with a combination of letters and symbols. You can use an online password generator to generate a strong password to use.
- Laziness or Convenience: Many people are really lazy to type or create a strong password, they just want to get in. You are using a small or common password to quickly type and get to use the website.
How Much time it takes to hack a Password
According to Hive Systems, an 8-character “numbers only” password takes less than one second to hack whereas it takes 5 min to hack a complex password in 2023.
You can see the chart, between 4-6 characters whether it’s complex or numbers only it can get compromised within seconds.
That is why it’s important to use an above 12-character complex password to keep yourself safe from hackers and it will take centuries to crack your password.
While using an online password generator, have this infographic in mind and create long characters (18 or above), and complex passwords to keep yourself safe.
Remember with the advancement of computing and technologies like quantum computing and cryptography, it’s going to be hard to safeguard your passwords.
Best practices for creating strong passwords
Here are some best practices you can follow while creating passwords.
- Use a mix of characters like uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters to create strong passwords.
- The password character should be 18 or above.
- Longer passwords are more secure.
- Keep your passwords unique.
- Use an online password generator to generate highly strong passwords.
- Use different passwords for different accounts.
- Avoid common passwords.
- Regularly update your passwords.
- Use Two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security.
- Don’t share or reuse your passwords.
- Regularly check if your email or passwords are being compromised using services like Have I Been Pwned.
List of 200+ common passwords
NordPass, a leading password manager owned by NordVPN conducted a study of the password habits of people in partnership with independent researchers.
They compiled a 200 list of passwords extracted from a 4.3TB database. They also compiled some interesting statistics.
- Movie streaming users seem to use most of the weak passwords compared to other popular websites.
- “123456” is the most commonly used password.
- Researchers found it’s getting harder to breach passwords but malware attacks are still a threat to account security.
| NO. | Password | Time to crack | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 123456 | < 1 Second | 4,524,867 |
| 2 | admin | < 1 Second | 4,008,850 |
| 3 | 12345678 | < 1 Second | 1,371,152 |
| 4 | 123456789 | < 1 Second | 1,213,047 |
| 5 | 1234 | < 1 Second | 969,811 |
| 6 | 12345 | < 1 Second | 728,414 |
| 7 | password | < 1 Second | 710,321 |
| 8 | 123 | < 1 Second | 528,086 |
| 9 | Aa123456 | < 1 Second | 319,725 |
| 10 | 1234567890 | < 1 Second | 302,709 |
| 11 | UNKNOWN | 17 Minutes | 240,377 |
| 12 | 1234567 | < 1 Second | 234,187 |
| 13 | 123123 | < 1 Second | 224,261 |
| 14 | 111111 | < 1 Second | 191,392 |
| 15 | Password | < 1 Second | 177,725 |
| 16 | 12345678910 | < 1 Second | 172,502 |
| 17 | 000000 | < 1 Second | 168,653 |
| 18 | admin123 | 11 Seconds | 159,354 |
| 19 | ******** | < 1 Second | 152,497 |
| 20 | user | 1 Second | 146,233 |
| 21 | 1111 | < 1 Second | 144,262 |
| 22 | P@ssw0rd | < 1 Second | 135,424 |
| 23 | root | 1 Second | 122,834 |
| 24 | 654321 | < 1 Second | 109,908 |
| 25 | qwerty | < 1 Second | 109,836 |
| 26 | Pass@123 | 5 Minutes | 105,505 |
| 27 | ****** | < 1 Second | 102,054 |
| 28 | 112233 | < 1 Second | 100,920 |
| 29 | 102030 | < 1 Second | 99,612 |
| 30 | ubnt | 1 Second | 98,743 |
| 31 | abc123 | < 1 Second | 94,698 |
| 32 | Aa@123456 | 11 Seconds | 90,414 |
| 33 | abcd1234 | < 1 Second | 86,921 |
| 34 | 1q2w3e4r | < 1 Second | 86,486 |
| 35 | 123321 | < 1 Second | 83,206 |
| 36 | err | < 1 Second | 81,390 |
| 37 | qwertyuiop | < 1 Second | 79,434 |
| 38 | 87654321 | < 1 Second | 79,310 |
| 39 | 987654321 | < 1 Second | 78,452 |
| 40 | Eliska81 | 3 Hours | 75,755 |
| 41 | 123123123 | < 1 Second | 73,033 |
| 42 | 11223344 | < 1 Second | 72,444 |
| 43 | 987654321 | < 1 Second | 69,006 |
| 44 | demo | < 1 Second | 68,140 |
| 45 | 12341234 | < 1 Second | 67,957 |
| 46 | qwerty123 | < 1 Second | 67,787 |
| 47 | Admin@123 | 1 Hour | 65,258 |
| 48 | 1q2w3e4r5t | < 1 Second | 64,597 |
| 49 | 11111111 | < 1 Second | 63,545 |
| 50 | pass | < 1 Second | 62,169 |
Wikipedia has a page of 10,000 most common passwords, if you want to see then you can find some bizarre, funny, surprising, silly passwords there.
Best Password Managers to try
To create and manage strong passwords you need to have a password manager. It will provide many tools and security features to keep your passwords safe and aware you of any data breaches.
Here are some of the best password managers to try.
- NordPass: NordVPN, offers NordPass, a popular and efficient password manager. It helps you keep safe your passwords.
- Dashlane: Dashlane is a popular password manager that offers a number of features, including password changers, authenticators, dark web surveillance, and other practical tools to improve the security of your passwords.
- LastPass: LastPass is a wise option for managing passwords because of its safe password-sharing and two-factor authentication capabilities.
- Bitwarden: With Bitwarden, an open-source password manager known for its security features, you can safely keep your notes, passwords, and other private data.
- 1Password: Choosing 1Password is a great way to boost your online security. It offers a secure vault for storing all your passwords, notes, and other information in an encrypted form, ensuring the safety of your data.
In conclusion, weak passwords can get you in lots of trouble from leaking your personal information to stealing your money. Use strong passwords and security tools to keep safe yourself.
