Top Internet passwords can easily be hacked
January 23, 2010
Data security firm Imperva has analyzed the attack on RockYou that took place last year. Imperva found out that, not only do people choose easy-to-guess passwords, they reuse those passwords across multiple services. For example, someone may be using “12345″ as their Facebook password as well as the security key to a private office intranet. Not smart, since those simple passwords are the first to crumble before an automated attack.
Here are the ten worst Internet passwords found in the RockYou hack analysis:
123456
12345
123456789 (WTF?)
Password (seriously?!)
iloveyou (so do hackers)
princess
rockyou (or “facebook” for Facebook, etc- this is really stupid, sorry)
1234567
12345678
abc123
So, statistically, your password sucks. This also holds true with Wi-Fi networks. Either leave your network open or choose a decent password. If you still have your network password set to factory default, then you’re crackable like a walnut. Yes, these work. Yes, everyone knows about it.
So, how do you create a secure password? Easy, actually: keep it random, and mix up the numbers, letters and capitalization. Change the password a few times a year. Don’t use letter or number sequences. Don’t use any word that can be found in the dictionary. Don’t include the service’s name in your password. Change your crappy password before you get pwned.
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