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12 popular passwords you should never, ever use

You can't be too careful.

 

Gabe Bergado

Internet Culture

Posted on Apr 7, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 11:41 pm CDT

You might groan when registering for a new online account if the password requires at least one number, a capitalized letter, and a symbol (and, soon enough, your right index finger as well), but it’s all for your own protection. Think of how terrible it would be for someone to prance right into your bank account or paid porn subscription because your password was shit.

Yet people continue to use horrible passwords in this day and age. SplashData, a password management system, has released its fifth annual list of the worst passwords around. Their data is pulled from more than 2 million leaked passwords and showcases the risks we take with our security no matter how many times we’ve been warned about it

So even though you’re probably not going to listen, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to explain once again why these popular passwords are so lousy.

1) 123456

Still the top—and worst—password around. The tip-top laziest password you can set. Using these strings of numbers is practically asking to get hacked. Are you? Maybe you are. Well, you deserve it. But it’s arguably just as bad as the password that continues to come in second place, which is…

2) password 

Why is this selection so bad? Because the answer is right there in plain sight, dummy. Someone is most definitely going to hack into your email and send your significant other some fabricated story about you cheating (or maybe that really happened?) that’ll seriously screw up your life, or some other fucked-up email that’s sure to throw everything into chaos.

3) qwerty

Oh, so just because it’s a string of keys in the row right under “123456” it’s clever, right? Wrong. Still horrible.

4) football

If you’re somebody who gets all pumped up for NFL season, any person that can put two and two together will try this password to log into your accounts. Touchdown—for them.

5) letmein

OK, there’s an ounce of cunning with this password, but it’s at the lowest level of ingenuity and still pretty easy to crack.

6) FingersInTheBootyAssBitch

Already taken by Kanye West.

7) iusedtomakeoutwithmybeaniebabies

It’s too easy to guess, because people already know that you used to make out with your Beanie Babies. You got drunk at the company holiday party and told everyone, remember? Yeah.

8) y1&2xlk0*

Actually, a very secure password. Call this bitch encrypted, because nobody’s going to figure it out. But it’s still a bad password because it’s stupid af. There’s no personality in it!

9) whydoihavea3rdnipple

This is the password field, not the search bar on WebMD.

10) Clarencegaveme700dollars

Who the fuck is Clarence?

11) bushdidntdo9/11

Your password shouldn’t be a lie.

12)  ✄☎✆✇✈✉✌

Technically a great password, but most sites don’t support Zapf Dingbats.

H/T PR Web 

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*First Published: Apr 7, 2016, 11:00 am CDT