The 25 Most Commonly Used Passwords of 2016 Revealed

Passwords. Eh? Am I right? Eh? What a pain. With the amount of accounts and subscription-based services available in today’s market we’re constantly having to remember more and more passwords. But how seriously are we taking our password security?

But what a necessity. In fact, they’re so much more than a simple necessity – they’re downright essential in today’s digital world, where a password can be the gateway to the entire lives of every day people like you and me. They protect our identities, our financial details, our private messages, our personal photo libraries… and the rest.

Password Security

Password management company Keeper Security sourced and analysed 10 million password records, collated from a number of security breaches that occurred throughout 2016. When a machine that costs less that £1,000 is capable of testing billions of passwords per second, it’s more important now than ever to ensure you follow best password practices.

We’re constantly being reminded of the importance of password security. Many websites feature password strength indicators that, well… indicate your password strength, but is this enough? If you’re using a password from this list on one of your accounts then it’s time for a change.

The 25 Most Common Passwords of 2016

Here it is. Brace yourself, there are some real doozeys in here with my own personal favourites being “google” and “111111”. Also – spoiler alert – our old friend “qwerty” is still hanging about. Shocking*.

*Not shocking

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. qwerty
4. 12345678
5. 111111
6. 1234567890
7. 1234567
8. password
9. 123123
10. 987654321
11. qwertyuiop
12. mynoob
13. 123321
14. 666666
15. 18atcskd2w
16. 7777777
17. 1q2w3e4r
18. 654321
19. 555555
20. 3rjs1la7qe
21. google
22. 1q2w3e4r5t
23. 123qwe
24. zxcvbnm
25. 1q2w3e

And there it is. Imagine. The sheer amount of personal and private information hidden away behind the digital security equivalent of a wet flap of cardboard. It’s hard to believe (or is it?) that the number one spot is occupied by something as obvious as “123456” which, incidentally, was the number one password of 2015 as well. Sheesh.

A couple of items on this list seem a tad more cryptic – “3rjs1la7qe”, for example, or “18atcskd2w”. These passwords are most likely used by bots that regularly access online accounts with malicious intent. Phishing campaigns for example, or spamming.

Protect Yourself Online

But who’s at fault here? Who should be held responsible for the lack of fundamental online security street smarts? While website users should definitely take this whole topic a bit more seriously and choose better passwords, Keeper Security are ultimately pointing the finger at website owners and operators for not educating the online community by providing more helpful advice and enforcing stricter password policies in their applications.

Keeper co-founder and CEO Darren Guccione wrote, “While it’s important for users to be aware of risks, a sizable minority are never going to take the time or effort to protect themselves. IT administrators and website operators must do the job for them.”

So did you make this list? Are you using any of the above? If so then it’s definitely time to reconsider your strategy, otherwise it may only be a matter of time before your own personal online security is a thing of the past.

Protect Yourself Online

Hopefully the point has driven home by now that when it comes to our password security we need to step up our game and follow best practices. Here’s how you can protect yourself online and help prevent unauthorised access to your accounts.

And if this time next year we’re still seeing “123456” as the number one password – well. We’re just doomed, aren’t we?