Splashdata has released its list of the worst passwords of 2017, including “starwars,” “monkey,” and of course, “password.”
Splashdata's top-ranked horrible password was “123456,” with “password” being second. Most of the bad passwords were too obvious and easy to guess, with strings of sequential numbers appearing six times on the top 25 list, along with “abc123.”
“Qwerty,” which appears in that order on a typical computer keyboard, and “letmein,” were other top-ranked passwords, joining “admin” and “login” as passwords a hacker could probably guess in under five minutes, Mashable reported.
“Hello,” “whatever,” and “trustno1” were several other bad choices.
Splashdata estimates about 10 percent of people have used one of the top 25 worst passwords, USA Today reported.
Experts recommend using a phrase as a password instead of a single word and adding in symbols or numbers that you can remember rather easily. Using two-factor authentication, where you get a text or email with a code to authenticate your identity, is another good option.
Other recommendations include using a different password for each site you use, since hackers will often take one successful password and try to use it on other services, and using a password manager, which automatically generates unique passwords for different sites and only requires you to have one password to log in to the manager.
Besides hackers who want to access your financial information to steal from you, others who might want to access your personal information include prankster friends, exes who want revenge, or those you may have alienated at work or on social media, Lifehacker suggested.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.