With so much of our lives now conducted online, it is hardly surprising people struggle to remember long lists of complex passwords to keep their personal details secure.

But it seems many of us are not learning the lessons of recent online security breaches, choosing instead to use some of the most common – and easily guessable – codes around.

An annual list of the 25 most common passwords on the internet show that people are still putting their faith in ‘password1; and ‘123456’ to keep their online accounts safe.

The findings will no doubt cause online security experts to groan as despite repeated warnings, internet users are still failing to adopt better security when using the web.

The list, produced by online security app firm SplashData, was compiled from more than two million leaked passwords in the US.

According to the US company, choosing a bad password can leave you open to far more than just an inappropriate Facebook post from a prankster.

Choosing easy to guess passwords can lead to accounts being hacked and identities being stolen by cyber-thieves.

However, the company also found some people have taken advice to change their passwords, but their new choice still leaves a lot to be desired.

New entrants into the list included a flurry of passwords inspired by 2015’s biggest film release, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

These included phrases like ‘star wars’, ‘princess’ and ‘solo’.

Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, said: ‘Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are.

‘Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences. As more websites require stronger passwords or combinations of letters and numbers, longer keyboard patterns are becoming common passwords, and they are still not secure.’

Even those who try to switch numbers for letters are no longer safe from hackers it would seem.

Read the Whole Article

The post Have You Changed Your Password? appeared first on LewRockwell.

With so much of our lives now conducted online, it is hardly surprising people struggle to remember long lists of complex passwords to keep their personal details secure.

But it seems many of us are not learning the lessons of recent online security breaches, choosing instead to use some of the most common – and easily guessable – codes around.

An annual list of the 25 most common passwords on the internet show that people are still putting their faith in ‘password1; and ‘123456’ to keep their online accounts safe.

The findings will no doubt cause online security experts to groan as despite repeated warnings, internet users are still failing to adopt better security when using the web.

The list, produced by online security app firm SplashData, was compiled from more than two million leaked passwords in the US.

According to the US company, choosing a bad password can leave you open to far more than just an inappropriate Facebook post from a prankster.

Choosing easy to guess passwords can lead to accounts being hacked and identities being stolen by cyber-thieves.

However, the company also found some people have taken advice to change their passwords, but their new choice still leaves a lot to be desired.

New entrants into the list included a flurry of passwords inspired by 2015’s biggest film release, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

These included phrases like ‘star wars’, ‘princess’ and ‘solo’.

Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData, said: ‘Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are.

‘Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences. As more websites require stronger passwords or combinations of letters and numbers, longer keyboard patterns are becoming common passwords, and they are still not secure.’

Even those who try to switch numbers for letters are no longer safe from hackers it would seem.

Read the Whole Article

The post Have You Changed Your Password? appeared first on LewRockwell.