It’s a new year, and for many that means New Year’s resolutions. Out with the old, in with the new they say. While this can apply to undertaking a new diet or exercise plan, it also applies to updating passwords. While changing passwords might seem inconvenient, it can save you a big headache down the road.
Having a simple password or keeping the same password for any account for an extended period leaves you vulnerable for someone to hack into your account.
According to a recent article by Forbe’s, SplashData, a password management security company, finds the world’s most common (and dangerous) passwords each year. This year's list includes some of the tried and true passwords that come up year after year, as well as some new additions.
At the top of the list are ’123456′ and ‘password.’ All but one of the numeric patterns were in last year’s top 25 oft-repeated passwords, including ’12345,’ ’12345678,’ ’1234567890,’ ’1234567,’ and ’1234.’ New this year was ’121212.’
This year’s list included ‘Password’ and variations ‘passw0rd’ and the new but predictable ‘password1.’ It also had some pretty obvious words: ‘qwerty,’ ‘login,’ ‘welcome,’ and ‘admin,’ another new one this year. Old favorites include ‘football,’ ‘princess,’ ‘solo,’ ‘abc123,’ ‘dragon,’ and ‘master.’
Other new words this year: ‘hottie,’ ‘loveme,’ ‘sunshine,’ and ‘flower.’ Oh, and ‘zaq1zaq1,’ which is what you get when you type up on the left column on a standard keyboard. (Yes, other people can figure that out.)
Staying on top of password changes protects your accounts and private information. But it’s important to remember that not all passwords are created equal. There are certain guidelines you should follow to make sure you have the most secure password possible.
So, without further ado, here are our top do’s and don’ts of creating a password:
Do:
- Change passwords every 90 days.
- Use different password for each of your accounts
- Make sure password has a variation of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols
- Make your password lengthy. The more intricate the password, the more difficult it is to guess.
- Keep passwords stored in a safe place.
Don’t:
- Use your personal information in passwords. (Your college, name, pet's name etc.)
- Use the same password for each of your accounts.
- Keep your passwords stored on an electronic device you could lose.
- Use variations of the same password each time you change it.
So when it comes to passwords, it never hurts to change things up every once in a while and put some thought into the process. A little work right now can help give you peace of mind in protecting your online assets.
