Experts have discovered the most insecure passwords and warn: professionals can crack them in under a second. TECHBOOK reveals which ones they are – and how your password becomes so secure that nobody can find out.
The Internet has made our lives easier in many respects, but also significantly less secure. Because with a little knowledge and talent, hackers can easily get their hands on sensitive data that we’d rather keep private. That’s why we protect ourselves on the Internet as best we can with passwords that are designed to prevent strangers from accessing accounts and data. However, convenience often wins out when creating passwords. We regret this carelessness at the latest when someone cracks it and misuses our data. Researchers have uncovered some of the most used and insecure passwords in the UK. The frightening result: Less than a second would be enough for scammers to crack many of them.
These are the most insecure passwords
Length and complexity – that’s what makes a secure password. According to experts, it should consist of a mixture of numbers, letters and special characters and not allow any reference to the user. However, such passwords are difficult to remember, which is why many users resort to simpler versions. They usually show little creativity, which is why the most insecure passwords are so widespread.
Even if you have trouble remembering difficult passwords, you should never use one of these ten passwords:
- 123123
- 123456
- 1234567
- 12345678
- 123456789
- 1234567890
- password
- QWERTZ
- 111111
- 987654321
Users should also avoid certain information such as their name, that of their partner or their pet – the information helps scammers to crack a password faster. Tabi is also the name of the street you grew up on, your favorite vacation spot or the sports team you’re a fan of. Scammers could find out all this information from information on social networks such as Facebook.
Also read: Bye-bye, password! Apple, Google and Microsoft want to revolutionize login
With which password hackers have no chance
And yes, they exist: passwords that hackers give up on.
According to the experts, if you follow these rules, it would take hackers up to four billion years to crack the password:
- Use a different password for every account on the Internet.
- Use three random unrelated words for your password.
- Complete these three words with a number.
If you cannot and do not want to remember countless passwords, you can also try a password manager.