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Top 25 worst passwords revealed

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By John Glenday | Reporter

November 19, 2011 | 2 min read

A study of millions of stolen passwords obtained by hackers has revealed the top 25 most common compromised passwords used to protect online data.

The survey, compiled by SplashData, predictably revealed that passwords such as “password” and “123456” were about as effective at protecting your online data as a wet paper bag.

Indeed ‘password’ was identified as the worst password possible for protection with even alphanumeric staple ‘abc123’ offering scant defence.

Other common passwords which prove a boon to hackers and the nefarious are names such as ‘Michael’ and ‘ashley’ alongside popular sports such as ‘football’ and ‘baseball’

SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said: “Hackers can easily break into many accounts just by repeatedly trying common passwords,” Slain says. “Even though people are encouraged to select secure, strong passwords, many people continue to choose weak, easy-to-guess ones, placing themselves at risk from fraud and identity theft.”

Top 25 worst passwords:

1. password

2. 123456

3.12345678

4. qwerty

5. abc123

6. monkey

7. 1234567

8. letmein

9. trustno1

10. dragon

11. baseball

12. 111111

13. iloveyou

14. master

15. sunshine

16. ashley

17. bailey

18. passw0rd

19. shadow

20. 123123

21. 654321

22. superman

23. qazwsx

24. michael

25. football

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