2017’s Worst Passwords
We have written numerous articles, like this one, on why using strong passwords is so important. Unfortunately, apparently many people don’t take us (and many others) seriously. The top 3 passwords for 2017 and the same top three passwords for 2015 and 2016 also.
- 123456
- Password
- 12345678
Really? None of you are using those passwords, are you? We hope that none of you are using any of the passwords in this list of the top 25 worst passwords for 2017. Or even anything similar. We suggest you use a password of at least 12 characters consisting of at least one uppercase letter, lowercase letters, symbols (like $ % *) and at least one number. There are many online password generators, but the trouble is, you can can generate all the strong passwords you want, but you won’t use them unless you can remember them.
We have long recommended LastPass because it can generate strong, uncrackable passwords like 8HNPWse*SGp8 and remember your passwords and enter them automatically whenever you need to log in to a site for which you generated a password.
But many of you resist using a password manager, and you’ll never use one. For those of you who don’t want to use a password manager here’s a way to make strong passwords you can remember:
3y3W@ntc@ndy$fr33
Just think “I want candy free”. And according to My1Login it would take 5 years for a hacker using password cracking software to crack this password.
MyC@t$n@meizBarn3y2
“My cats name is Barney too.” According to My1Login, it would take 16 centuries for someone to crack this password.
Want to test your passwords? You can check them at:
or
A new year is only a few days away. Now is a good time to make sure your passwords are strong and you don’t use the same password for any sites that deal with personal information such as: Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, credit or debit card number, home address, driver’s license numbers, license plate numbers, or any site dealing with money – including online shopping sites.
Now, here’s the list of the top 25 worst passwords for 2017 from Time magazine:
123456
Password
12345678
qwerty
12345
123456789
letmein
1234567
football
iloveyou
admin
welcome
monkey
login
abc123
starwars
123123
dragon
passw0rd
maste
hello
freedom
whatever
qazwsx
trustno1
ATTN: CLOUDEIGHT BOOSTERS
If you’re a Cloudeight Booster, check your Booster’s home page right now. We have extended our holiday sales though New Year’s Day. And all boosters’ freebies are listed on your Cloudeight Boosters’ Home Page too!
If you’re not a Cloudeight Booster, please join us. we have special deals and freebies for our Boosters!
What about password safe as a password manager? would that one be ok to use?
We are not familiar with this one either. There are dozens of password managers out there – but you need to be sure you can trust a company with your passwords/logins. Do your homework. Darcy has used Roboform for over 10 years and I’ve used LastPass for over 10 years. We’ve never found any compelling reason to switch. Roboform and LastPass work and provide every feature users could possibly want. LastPass is free, RoboForm is not. If you decide to use Password Safe, make sure you do your research first.
Is remembear.com any good?
Donna, there are dozens and dozens of password managers. We are familiar only with the one’s we’ve tested… those are:
1. Roboform (excellent but no longer free – trustworthy – long history of trust)
2. LastPass (excellent and free for multiple devices – trustworthy – long history of trust)
3. Dashlane (good but uses a lot of resources – trustworthy)
We can only tell you if you’re going to be using any password manager, be sure you trust the people who make it. RoboForm & LastPass have both been around for more than a decade and in all this time there have been on serious breaches of user date.
Do your research and find out what Remembear’s reputation is among users. Also, just in a brief look I saw that it’s in Beta and after it gets out of Beta they’ll be offering a “Paid” version, which is usually bad news for Beta users. Also, it appears you have to use their browser… I would stick with a trusted password manager like LastPass – they’ve offered a highly useful free version for more than a decade.
Hello Again
I am finally going to break down and use Last Pass…my passwords are only Intermediate strength
One thing I am not sure of is do I have to go into each of me places I use a password and change it or does Last Pass
Thanks
Susan
Hi Susan. We answered you via email so you have the answer you need. We are glad we could help you with this. Happy New Year!
Many of the same words/phrases every year. People never learn. I use Last Pass and love it.