Today is officially World Password Day and that means now is the perfect time to get your digital life in order. Strong passwords are vital for keeping personal data, emails and bank accounts hidden away from cyber crooks but millions of us continue to use codes that are ludicrously easy to crack. Punching in the same password for multiple accounts is also a trap that’s easy to fall into, especially with all the online services we now access on a daily basis.
Recent research from the team at NordPass confirmed some of the most used UK passwords and it appears phrases and words such as “123456”, “password” and “qwerty” are still being commonly used. Names of football teams also feature along with “Abc123”.
Here’s the top list of most used passwords in the UK
• 123456
• password
• qwerty
• liverpool
• 123456789
• arsenal
• 12345678
• 12345
• Abc123
• chelsea
If your code features on that list above you really need to make some changes as soon as possible. The best way to secure your accounts is to use a code that has a mix of letters, numbers and special characters such as # or $.
Here’s a good example of how to make a standard password way harder to crack.
BAD PASSWORD • arsenal (can be hacked in under a second)
BETTER PASSWORD • Ar$sena1 (takes 6 minutes to hack)
SECURE PASSWORD • Ar$enal-01 (takes 5 years to hack)
As you can see, small changes make a massive difference and it’s worth taking time out of your day to switch things up if you want to stay safe.
Here are some other top tips to keep your online accounts unhackable.
• Use complex passwords – Your password should be at least 20 characters long and include a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols.
• Never reuse passwords – Never use the same password across multiple sites or services
• Check your passwords – Take the time to regularly assess your password health. Identify weak, old, or reused passwords
• Use a password manager – Generate and store complex and unique passwords for each of your accounts with password manager software
