These days we all have what seems like a million passwords to try and remember. Personal email, work email, social media, banking, subscription services, we all virtually live our lives online.

Gone are the days of easy to remember secure 4-6 character straight forward passwords.

It seems now every time you create a new login, it scolds you telling you that you’ve done it wrong forcing you to go back and correct yourself making sure to add in a capital letter, a special character, a lowercase letter, a number and who knows what next – your favorite meal or perhaps your shoe size. It can be frustrating and time-consuming.

Why is this?

Part of the issue is the passwords people most commonly choose when left to their own devices. 

Are your passwords in the top 10 most overused and easiest to crack?

Let’s find out! According to the 2015 report, these are the top 10 most overused passwords.

1. 123456

2.password

(these two have been on the very top of SplashData’s annual list since 2011 and mark the number one way identity theft happens.)

3. qwerty

4. abc123

5. 1111111

6. iloveyou

7. adobe123

8. admin

9. letmein

10. your pets name

 

If your passwords are or contain any of the above mentioned please, for your own sake, go change them immediately. Using passwords of 8 or more characters with a mix of capitals, lower case, and symbols greatly reduces the likelihood of your accounts being hijacked and your information stolen. It is also advisable to avoid using the same password for multiple site logins. 

If you have trouble coming up with new acceptable passwords, you can use a password generator such as Splash ID or LastPass. These also are able to store your passwords for use on a multitude of sites and also share (with permission of course) within a company for easy use access while still remaining secure.

If you are dead set against using a password generator which spits out long codes, you can’t possibly remember and will always have to copy and paste try these tips:

1. Use a combination of letters and numbers to spell out a phrase ex. “Many Colors” could be “mnYc0l0rz”

2. Spell by sound “Wooden Gate” could be “Wdn-G8”

3. Separate words with odd characters “l0ve%my$dog”

 Get creative. Don’t make yourself an easy target for hackers.

  

Sources:

http://hackyourlove.com/articles/email-password-hacking/

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/01/prweb12456779.htm

http://www.bu.edu/infosec/howtos/how-to-choose-a-password/

Originally Published: http://inmotionpc.com/how-secure-is-your-password/#sthash.xSzqvAif.dpuf