Internet Insecurity: The 25 Worst Passwords of 2011
You've got locks on your doors and maybe even an alarm system guarding your home. But all that stands between criminals and your bank account information is the word "password." Sound familiar? "Password," "123456" and, weirdly, "monkey" are among the 25 worst passwords of the year, according to SplashData, a private company that sells security services and password software.
SplashData compiled its list -- released Monday -- from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers. %Poll-70983% And despite all the fancy technology available to hackers, when it comes to breaking and entering, they'll still go for the low-hanging fruit, starting with easy passwords like these.
Here's a tip for creating a more secure password: Make it eight characters or more, and use multiple types of characters -- upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. (For more tips, read DailyFinance's article on how to create safe, memorable passwords.)
25 Worst Passwords of the Year
1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passwOrd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football