Facebook and Gmail users beware and avoid any of these poor passwords that are still commonly used nowadays, as per a new study.
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 09: In this photo illustration, A woman is silhouetted against a projection of a password log-in dialog box on August 09, 2017 in London, England. With so many areas of modern life requiring identity verification, online security remains a constant concern, especially following the recent spate of global hacks.
Passwords to Avoid
Creating a password that would strongly protect you from cybercriminals has become more difficult than ever as hackers have also advanced over time.
Not to mention that complex and unique passwords are tough to remember in the first place. As such, some folks out there repeatedly use a password that's easy to memorize.
However, as per the news story by The New York Post, a new study revealed the commonly-used passwords from the recent data breaches.
A fin-tech card payment company, Dojo, spearheaded the study of the commonly-used awful passwords that online folks still use.
The researchers of the study specifically examined about 100,000 passwords from users that were previously breached from the database of the National Cyber Security Center of the United Kingdom.
Common Password Categories
To slim down the numerous breached passwords, the researchers trimmed them into common categories, such as pet names, sports, and countries.
The study further said that categorizing the most breached passwords in terms of their commonalities could help "reveal the password subjects you should avoid as a whole to stay secure online."
The research went on to reveal that the top categories include pet names and terms of endearment, namely "love" and "baby." Not to mention that star signs and animals also tops the list.
On top of that, the study also revealed that most of the breached passwords are under the categories of colors, food, cities, and even car makes.
Poor Password: Avoid These Words
Meanwhile, according to a news story by TechRadar, Facebook or Gmail users should also avoid these names on their passwords: Anna, Alex, and Sam.
Also, as much as we understand that your feline and canine companions are close to your heart, the words cat and dog are not best suited to be on your passwords.
Some folks are also using brand names as part of their passwords, including tech giants like Google and Apple. Car brands are also commonly used, namely Honda, Audi, and Ford.
Overall, the UK NCSC says that these are the worst commonly used passwords:
- 123456789
- 123456
- 1111111
- Qwerty
- Password
So, you might want to review the passwords that you are using to secure your social media accounts, emails, and payment methods to help avoid any future breaches.
Related Article: 2SV Logins Effectively Halved Chances of Google Accounts Getting Hacked: 150 Million Required in 2021
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Written by Teejay Boris
