The most-used passwords of 2015, worse than in 2014

One year on, SplashData, a studio specialized in password management apps, has again released its ranking of the most-used passwords of the year, and it’s the same story as 2014, but worse: people appear not to care even the slightest bit about the security of their data, with the top 25 being led yet again by classicly predictable ones like 123456 or the redundant password. And once again, we must repeat our basic recommendations for choosing appropriate protection.

The next infographic shows the top 25 alongside their movement compared to last year. There are some new ones here, like princess, solo, and starwars thanks to the the galactic whirlwind of recent months, or chains of letters like 1qaz2wsx that at first appear random but then a look at a qwerty keyboard reveals them to be the letters from the first two left columns going down.

Tips for creating secure passwords

• Do not use personal information. With a bit of social engineering and browsing online it’s easy to find data such as your birthdate or your dog’s name.
• Use combinations of a minimum of eight characters, mixing letters, numbers, and symbols. And if it’s possible to use capital letters, use at least one.
• Don’t use the same password on every site where you register. If a security problem arises on one of them the vulnerability could extend to your entire digital life.
• Change the password every few months to avoid problems in the long term.
• Use a password manager if you use several.
• Always opt for the two-step verification that’s offered on ever more services and that can halt an intrusion when someone tries to access your account from a computer that’s not your usual one.

More information | Teams ID Blog

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