When it comes to passwords, longer doesn’t necessarily mean better.
That was apparent on Tuesday, when SplashData released its fifth annual “Worst Passwords” list. “123456” and “password” remained at the top of the list for the fifth straight year, but longer entries reflect the growing concerns of online identity theft — or longer password requirements.
“1234567890,” “qwertyuiop” (the top row of letters on a standard keyboard) and “1qaz2wsx” (the first two columns on a standard keyboard) all made the Top 25 list for the first time, reflecting tech companies’ push to make devices and accounts harder to hack. Unfortunately, many users don’t seem to be taking the suggestions to heart.
“If these longer passwords are based on simple patterns, they will put you in just as much risk of having your identity stolen by hackers,” said SplashData CEO Morgan Slain on the company’s website.
Many tech companies are hoping to completely do away with passwords in the future. But for now, security experts agree that when setting a new password, users should include special characters and both upper- and lower-case letters when possible and avoid full words and avoid repeating passwords on separate accounts.
The top 25 List also mirroredTV ratings in the sports world, as “football” rose three spots to No. 7, and “baseball” dropped two spots to No. 10.
It’s also no surprise that “starwars” and “solo” cracked the top 25, thanks to the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in December.
Check out the complete Top 25 list below:
Rank | Password | Change from 2014 |
1 | 123456 | Unchanged |
2 | password | Unchanged |
3 | 12345678 | Up 1 |
4 | qwerty | Up 1 |
5 | 12345 | Down 2 |
6 | 123456789 | Unchanged |
7 | football | Up 3 |
8 | 1234 | Down 1 |
9 | 1234567 | Up 2 |
10 | baseball | Down 2 |
11 | welcome | New |
12 | 1234567890 | New |
13 | abc123 | Up 1 |
14 | 111111 | Up 1 |
15 | 1qaz2wsx | New |
16 | dragon | Down 7 |
17 | master | Up 2 |
18 | monkey | Down 6 |
19 | letmein | Down 6 |
20 | login | New |
21 | princess | New |
22 | qwertyuiop | New |
23 | solo | New |
24 | passw0rd | New |
25 | starwars | New |
Alex Hider is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @alexhider.