If your password is on this list, you better change it, quick.
Millions of passwords are stolen every year, and 2015 was no exception with high profile cases like T-Mobile and Ashley madison making headline news. Passwords are also one of the most common issues that IT helpdesk engineers deal with. Each year Splash Data create a list of the most common passwords found amongst the stolen data and publish it online.
If you see your password on this list you should change it immediately to something a little more complicated.
The general rule is a mixture of symbols and letters, and that passphrases are better than passwords. A passphrase is several words strung together, for example: ‘D0n’tc0PYth15ex@mP1e’.
You should always use different passwords for different sites to minimise the risk of multiple sites being breached.
Splash Data’s official advice is that “it’s almost inevitable that some of your logins somewhere will be exposed. You just want to make sure that exposure doesn’t have a cascading effect on your other logins, especially at more valuable sites and services (e.g. email and financial services).”
You might also be interested:
How to create secure passwords.
How to manage your passwords securely.
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