Users are still not making enough of an effort when it comes to developing strong passwords.
Leaine Brebner, head of communications at Dial a Nerd, says the most common stolen password on Splashdata’s annual list was “123456” – which dethroned previous favourite “password”.
“Adobe’s major security breach in October 2013 is the main reason for the change in ranking as more than 48 million users were affected, with 2 million users choosing 123456 as their password,” she writes.
“The trouble with Adobe highlights a simple fact – when you give your personal information to someone online, you trust them with your identity.
“The problem with passwords is that human-nature dictates that we use the same password for all of our accounts. We have enough to remember on a daily basis, who wants to remember a dozen passwords too? But, it has become a necessity to have multiple passwords. Due to advanced technology and the proliferation of social networking, with a few key pieces of information someone can compromise your accounts and possibly steal from you or reveal your personal information to people you don’t want to see it.
“And we know this to be true because every few months compromised passwords are featuring in the news.”
The full list of the worst passwords in 2013, according to Splashdata, are: 123456; Password; 12345678; Qwerty; abc123; 123456789; 111111; 1234567; Iloveyou; adobe123; 123123; Admin; 1234567890; Letmein; Photoshop; 1234; Monkey; Shadow; Sunshine; 12345; password1; princess; azerty; trustno1; 000000.
“If you are using one of the passwords on this list, we strongly advise you to change it immediately,” writes Brebner.
She advises users not to choose a password based on the web site or application; to have longer passwords; to avoid common words or phrases; and to not use part of your own name of date of birth. In addition, don’t replace letters with similar-looking numbers and do not add numbers of special characters to the end of a word.
“A good password contains a mix of numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, sentences, special characters and is at least eight characters long. Easily remembered words used on their own, are usually easily guessed, but creating a sentence with words that mean something to you and including numbers, special characters and uppercase letters should make for a very strong password.
“Remember to avoid using the same password for multiple sites; it is especially risky to use the same password for social media sites, online emails and online banking sites.”