2012 is drawing to a close, but the most popular passwords of the year are still the same overused choices that have been explored since the first personal computers arrived on the open market.
The team at SplashData just released its first annual list of the worst yet most popular passwords of 2012.
In an unchanged examination, “password” is still the most used password. The word “password is followed by 123456, 12345678, and abc123.
The top three passwords have remained in the same order since 2011. New overused passwords added to the 2012 most popular passwords list include jesus, mustang, ninja, and password1.
Here’s the top 25 list which includes each words place on the same chart in 2011.
- 1. password (unchanged)
- 2. 123456 (unchanged)
- 3. 12345678 (unchanged)
- 4. abc123 (up 1)
- 5. qwerty (down 1)
- 6. monkey (unchanged)
- 7. letmein (up 1)
- 8. dragon (up 2)
- 9. 111111 (up 3)
- 10. baseball (up 1)
- 11. iloveyou (up 2)
- 12. trustno1 (down 3)
- 13. 1234567 (down 6)
- 14. sunshine (up 1)
- 15. master (down 1)
- 16. 123123 (up 4)
- 17. welcome (new)
- 18. shadow (up 1)
- 19. ashley (down 3)
- 20. football (up 5)
- 21. jesus (new)
- 22. michael (up 2)
- 23. ninja (new)
- 24. mustang (new)
- 25. password1 (new)
If you are using any of the passwords on this list, you should change them immediately. Password experts also urge internet users to mix up their passwords for different accounts to avoid mass exploitation of their accounts.
For the best security possible, users are urged to create passwords that offer a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers whenever possible. Many password setup screens these days also tell users when their password is “low, medium or higher” security.
Have you ever used one of the most popular passwords of 2012 for your own personal accounts?