Choosing a Password, Part 1

While all of us are indeed eager to keep our online experiences secure, keeping track of several passwords can be cumbersome. It is tempting to try to find memorable shortcuts, such as using the same password for multiple sites, choosing ones that contain easy-to-remember information such as our birthday or child’s name, or spelling our company’s name backwards. Hackers, however, are good at what they do, so it oftentimes requires some effort to stay a step ahead of them.

If you use any of the following as a password, you might want to reconsider immediately. According to this article, these ten are the most hacked:

1. 123456

2. password

3. welcome

4. ninja

5. abc123

6. 123456789

7. 12345678

8. sunshine

9. princess

10. qwerty

(In case you’re wondering, “qwerty” comes from the first six letters at the top of a keyboard.)

People around you may be aware of information such as your pet’s name or your favorite sports team, so these may not be wise choices. Likewise, with the amount of information readily available on the Internet (think about everything someone can learn from your Facebook page), criminals also can make good guesses.

Before you choose a weird term, however, be aware that experts even recommend staying away from any full dictionary word. Not much left? Now that we’ve talked about what not to use, tomorrow we’ll consider good alternatives.

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