TNB Night Owl – What’s in a (pass)word?

Every year since since 2011 SplashData, a company specializing in security data, ID, and password management apps and programs for PC’s and mobile devices, has created a list of the top 100 most used passwords. The list is created by data farmed from more than five million passwords that are leaked by hackers, data breaches, and other sources.

SplashData has noted in the past that even though people are aware of the risks of using popular insecure passwords, millions of people continue to use them anyway to “protect” their online information.

One might think, why would anyone risk such exposure? Are we all lazy? Do we just not care? I personally think it’s a little of both. I also think we might be suffering some sort of password fatigue.

There is absolutely a legitimate place for hardcore passwords to protect real information that people need to be concerned with. Online financial accounts, medical information, and other things containing personal information you might not want the world to know do need to be protected and secure. On that end we are failing and that’s bad.

Stupid things like blogs, forums, and video games, take passwords way too far, and are probably what’s causing some of us not to care anymore. Of course these things need minor passwords to keep normal people from logging in and messing with your stuff, or posting as you or whatever. But the password requirements are getting outrageous. Some video game sites now require up to 12 characters, including 1 capital, 1 symbol, and at least 1 number, as an additional requirement, and that’s usually followed by a multi layered CAPTCHA phrase that would probably stump Deep Blue.

Maybe if we stop trying to protect the dumb crap as if it’s Fort Knox, we would be more willing to put 4 seconds of effort in protecting the stuff that actually matters?


The 100 worst and most popular passwords of 2017

  1. 123456
  2. password
  3. 12345678
  4. qwerty
  5. 12345
  6. 123456789
  7. letmein
  8. 1234567
  9. football
  10. iloveyou
  11. admin
  12. welcome
  13. monkey
  14. login
  15. abc123
  16. starwars
  17. 123123
  18. dragon
  19. 1passw0rd
  20. master
  21. hello
  22. freedom
  23. whatever
  24. qazwsx
  25. trustno1
  26. 654321
  27. jordan23
  28. harley
  29. password1
  30. 1234
  31. robert
  32. matthew
  33. jordan
  34. asshole
  35. daniel
  36. andrew
  37. lakers
  38. andrea
  39. buster
  40. johsua
  41. 1qaz2wsx
  42. 12341234
  43. ferrari
  44. cheese
  45. computer
  46. corvette
  47. blahblah
  48. george
  49. mercedes
  50. 121212
  51. maverick
  52. fuckyou
  53. nicole
  54. hunter
  55. sunshine
  56. tigger
  57. 1989
  58. merlin
  59. ranger
  60. solo
  61. banana
  62. chelsea
  63. summer
  64. 1990
  65. 1991
  66. phoenix
  67. amanda
  68. cookie
  69. ashley
  70. bandit
  71. killer
  72. aaaaa
  73. pepper
  74. jessica
  75. zaq1zaq1
  76. jennifer
  77. test
  78. hockey
  79. dallas
  80. passwor
  81. michelle
  82. admin123
  83. pussy
  84. pass
  85. asdf
  86. william
  87. soccer
  88. london
  89. 1q2w3e
  90. 1992
  91. biteme
  92. maggie
  93. querty
  94. rangers
  95. charlie
  96. martin
  97. ginger
  98. golfer
  99. yankees
  100. thunder


(Editor’s note: Using any of the above passwords will put you at risk of losing whatever it is you think you are protecting.)

Night Owl Question of the night: Have you ever used any of these? What is your pass… uh nevermind.

About the opinions in this article…

Any opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this website or of the other authors/contributors who write for it.

About Lenny Ghoul 424 Articles
I make Polls on Twitter.