Some people always seem to underestimate the skills of hackers and carelessly choose passwords that can be guessed without great technical know-how. The top 3 most popular passwords have now been published.
Whether for online shopping, email accounts, or social media, passwords have become indispensable for protecting users. Some people make it a little too easy for themselves when choosing their password.
Number sequences are particularly common
Storing passwords in browsers is not a good idea, but neither are easy-to-guess combinations of letters and numbers. The Hasso Plattner Institute has determined which insecure passwords are most popular among users.
In first place is the number sequence 123456789, closely followed by the almost identical number sequence 12345678. According to RND, third place goes to the equally uncreative but relatively easy-to-guess “hello”.
Tips for creating a secure password
If you want a fairly secure password, you should therefore follow the recommendations of the German Federal Office for Information Security (AI is now able to crack even reasonably complex passwords).
If you want to create a new password in the near future, you should therefore pay attention to the following points:
The longer, the better. A good password should be at least eight characters long. Passwords should not include the names of family members, pets, best friends, favourite stars, dates of birth, or other personal information. Passwords should not include common variants, repetition, or keyboard patterns like “asdfgh” or “1234abcd.” Adding simple numbers to the end of the password or one of the usual special characters “$, !, ?, #” at the beginning or end of an otherwise simple password is not recommended.
If you have to manage many passwords at once, it is also advisable to use a so-called password manager.
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