• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Top 10 most commonly used passwords that are the easiest to crack

Home> Technology> News

Published 12:02 11 Feb 2024 GMT

Top 10 most commonly used passwords that are the easiest to crack

You might want to avoid using these passwords from now on...

Chelsea Connor

Chelsea Connor

When you think of the most obvious, default password, what comes to mind? ‘Admin1’? ‘Password1’ perhaps?

Think of what your overly-trusting Nan uses for her hotmail.

Well, the Cybernews Investigation Team have released ‘the most used’ passwords that are still in use - and some of them are surprisingly archaic.

It seems like some lucky buns out there haven’t been hacked and still feel comfortable putting a ‘1, 2 and 3’ as a number in their password (if it works, it works!)

Advert

In total, 15,212,645,925 passwords were gathered, of which 2,217,015,490 were unique.

It’s also been noted that the most common passwords usually don’t reach the recommended eight-character length.

Jason Wise, a privacy expert explained: “‘Considering how many different passwords you need to use daily, it’s understandable to use simple passwords or the same one for everything.”

The 10 most common passwords of this year have been revealed.
Photo By Eduardo Parra/Europa Press via Getty Images

Advert

‘If you are using one of the most common passwords in 2024 or any variant mentioned in this guide, it’s time to change it,’ he added.

The tech team also revealed what people regularly choose for their passwords, with some of the most popular being favourite sports teams, cities, food, and even curse words.'

As a way to protect yourself from hackers, experts advise not to use anything pertaining to yourself, your age etc. They also recommend ‘using a password generator. These tools can create unique passwords of 12 characters that include numbers, special characters, and both lower and uppercase letters.

According to a report by Scientific American, it is 62 trillion times harder to crack a password with 12 characters than a password with six characters.

Advert

Even with all of the necessary steps, the experts warn that passwords aren’t enough to stop people from hacking into your accounts, and an extra layer of protection should be added to your accounts, such as a multi-factor authentication.

The tech team share tips to keep accounts safe:Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The tech team share tips to keep accounts safe:Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A list was compiled of the most used passwords of this year, and it seems not much has changed since 2023, with most of the go-to passwords still being used daily. The ten most common passwords that were used this year may surprise you (they also might really, really not though) The list looks like:

1. 123456

Advert

2. 123456789

3. qwerty

4. password

5. 12345

Advert

6. qwerty123

7. 1q2w3e

8. 12345678

9. 111111

Advert

10.1234567890

According to Security.org, 61% of users impacted by password hacking admitted to having passwords shorter than eight characters in 2023. Additionally, only 64% of the passwords were 8 to 11 characters long.

Featured Image Credit: Credit:Getty Stock

Topics: Technology, News

Chelsea Connor
Chelsea Connor

Chelsea is a Journalist for UNILAD. Before this she worked as a Journalist and Comedy Writer for seven years, working for companies such as Newsquest, NationalWorld and Samahoma Productions. She became a qualified journalist back in 2017, completing a NCTJ at Liverpool City College.

X

@theccjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

9 hours ago
2 days ago
4 days ago
  • 9 hours ago

    Everyone's saying the same thing after clip of Elon Musk resurfaces claiming we're 'summoning the demon' with AI

    Musk has since developed robots, self-driving cars and an AI platform integrated into X

    Technology
  • 2 days ago

    Important reason why you should blur your house on Google Maps

    One Redditor claimed they'd taken the plunge after a 'number of break-ins and incidents'

    Technology
  • 4 days ago

    Expert gives step-by-step on how to survive the first 24 hours of a nuclear bomb attack amid WW3 fears

    Searches for 'WW3' have spiked amid the conflict between Israel, Iran and the US

    Technology
  • 4 days ago

    Expert shares stark warning to the US after Iran-linked hackers carried out Truth Social cyberattack

    Hackers aligned with Iran claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on the Trump-founded social media channel

    Technology
  • People are just learning of the most deadly disease that often goes undiagnosed by doctors
  • Japan discovers metal that could drastically change the world after investing $107,000,000,000 into revolution
  • Most common four-digit PIN numbers that put you at risk of cyberattacks are revealed
  • Private investigator issues 30 second test warning to stop your passwords being hacked