The Most Common Passwords of 2015 : A Continuous Trend of Using Weak Passwords

An annual list of most commonly used passwords in 2015 shows a continued dangerous trend of using weak passwords. The list released by Internet security software firm SplashData is comprised of millions of passwords that had been stolen and published online throughout year 2015.

SplashData has listed 25 most commonly used passwords, ranking them in order of popularity. Not to mention, 123456, password and qwerty are among the top most commonly used passwords.

Looking at the list, it is not hard to understand that most users choose to keep a password which is easier for them to remember. Passwords like 123456 or password reminds us the continued trend of choosing passwords that do more harm than to do good. Such passwords are easy to remember and easier to be guessed, at the same time.

This list also makes it clear that a number of websites do not take account security seriously. It is clear that there are websites which allow use of such weak passwords. Ideally a website should never accept passwords with only characters, only numbers, repetitive characters, or which includes the account name.

Malicious tools programmed to guess passwords and gain unauthorized access to accounts make use of such weak and common passwords. It’s not hard for hackers to hack into an account using trial and error methods like brute-force attack, which makes use of list of passwords. Weak passwords are the most common reason for accounts getting hacked.

Password like starwars, football and baseball shows how current popular events and interests make impact on choosing passwords.  Most passwords in the list are usually present in such lists every year.

25 most commonly used passwords of 2015

1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. football
8. 1234
9. 1234567
10. baseball
11. welcome
12. 1234567890
13. abc123
14. 111111
15. 1qaz2wsx
16. dragon
17. master
18. monkey
19. letmein
20. login
21. princess
22. qwertyuiop
23. solo
24. passw0rd
25. starwars

What Makes a ‘Strong’ Password?

A good password should be at least eight characters long. It should include a combination of alphabets in lower and upper case (like A, a), digits (0-9) and special characters (like @, $). A password should never contain account name, username, birthday or similar important date, phone number etc. Also, never repeat a password on different accounts.

If you have trouble remembering strong passwords for your accounts, you should use apps like 1Password or KeePass (open source) which lets you securely store account information of multiple accounts. Also remember to choose a strong ‘master password’ to unlock such apps.