When it comes to choosing a password, it seems like many of us still don’t take security very seriously, especially when it comes to streaming movies and TV shows.
That’s because new research has found that ‘123456’, ‘admin’, ‘password’ and ‘user’ are once again among the most popular login phrases in the world.
Not only that, but a third of the world’s most popular passwords are made up of purely numeric strings such as ‘123456789’, ‘12345’ and ‘000000’.
The analysis found that people use the weakest passwords for things like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, while the strongest logins are reserved for financial accounts.
According to password management company NordPass, ‘Netflix’, ‘netflix123’, ‘disney123’ and ‘disney2020’ are among the most commonly used passwords for streaming services.
Easy to crack: New research finds that ‘123456’, ‘admin’, ‘password’ and ‘user’ are once again among the most popular login phrases in the world (stock image)
Britain’s favorite passwords: In Britain, both ‘password’ and ‘password1’ were again among the most used passwords this year, according to password management company NordPass
‘Apple2020’, ‘Iphone1234’ and ‘Samsung1’ were popular among smartphone users, ‘minecraft’ for gamers and ‘amazon’ for e-commerce websites.
While financial accounts were found to have the strongest passwords, it should be more than a little concerning that there are people who have chosen the phrases ‘visavisa1’ and ‘paypal123’ to protect them.
According to NordPass, football also remains a common inspiration for internet users’ passwords.
The annual Most Common Passwords report found that many Brits were using player and team names for their logins, including ‘Liverpool’, ‘Arsenal’, ‘Chelsea’, ‘Rangers’, as well as simply ‘Football’.
That may not be such a surprise.
What’s more interesting, however, is that, rather bizarrely, people in Britain also like to choose passwords related to animals or mythical creatures, such as ‘monkey’ and ‘dragon’.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a general password list without the word “password” on it.
In Britain, both ‘password’ and ‘password1’ were again among the most used this year, according to NordPass.
‘Qwerty’ – the six characters at the top left of a computer keyboard – also featured heavily, along with abc123.
Somewhat randomly, ‘cheese’ also appears in the top 20 most common passwords, while ‘letmein’ and ‘killer’ were also popular.
Perhaps most worryingly, all logins on the UK list take less than a second to crack, prompting NordPass to warn of the need to better protect accounts from hackers.
It said that instead of internet users improving their password creation habits, they went the other way this year by sticking to already pre-configured passwords.
For example, ‘admin’ wasn’t even on the global charts in 2022, but has now risen to the top of the charts in most countries surveyed, barring Britain.
Worldwide it ranks number 2 overall.
Alarmingly, ‘Admin’ didn’t even make the global charts in 2022, but has now risen to the top of the charts in most countries surveyed, with the exception of Britain
On the other hand, in the US, ‘123456’ was also the most popular login, along with ‘password’
NordPass said that if mAs many as 70 percent of the passwords on this year’s global list can be cracked in less than a second.
The company’s independent researchers analyzed password usage in some 35 countries around the world, while also studying how malware attacks can pose a huge threat to people’s safety online.
Once someone’s computer becomes infected with malware, experts say a person risks losing a huge amount of personal information, including passwords and other credentials stored in the browser.
That’s why people should choose stronger passwords that are harder to crack, or use new key technology, she added.
Tomas Smalakys, NordPass’ chief technology officer, said: ‘With the terrifying risks faced by password users, alternative methods of online authentication are now essential.
Lax: The analysis found that people use the weakest passwords for things like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, while the strongest logins are reserved for financial accounts
Hacking threat: The company’s independent researchers analyzed password usage in some 35 countries around the world, while also studying how malware attacks can pose a huge threat to people’s safety online (stock image)
‘Passkey technology, considered the most promising innovation to replace passwords, is successfully paving its way and gaining trust among individuals and forward-thinking companies around the world.
“As one of the first password managers to offer this technology, we see that people are curious to test new things, as long as it helps eliminate the hassle of passwords.”
Cybersecurity expert Jake Moore said: ‘Bad passwords are often an easy way for hackers to gain access to accounts and there are tools cybercriminals use to help them gain access, such as populating password fields with commonly used passwords.
‘People often put their passwords on their social media, such as their pet names or favorite films.’
He added: ‘The smart use of two-factor authentication and robust encryption is a much stronger mix than using the same two or three passwords for all accounts.’