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The dumbest passwords people still use

3 of 26 NEXT PREV
  • Sh1a-labe0uf

    Sh1a-labe0uf

    We asked network security experts to tell us which passwords Americans just can't stop using right now, even though they should. Here's what they told us. Yes: A bizarrely high number of Americans are taking the name of a sometimes-troubled actor, moving some characters around, and calling it a password.

    "This was cracked from a wordlist," VIPRE Chief Product Officer Usman Choudhary says. "You can bank on pretty much any famous person out there -- actors, celebrities, athletes, you name it -- being in wordlists because people have [them] in their passwords."

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Lionsgate Premiere

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Admin

    Admin

    Who on Earth would use "admin" as both a username and password? Well, Equifax, that's who.

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: 20th Century Fox

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • StarWars

    StarWars

    Andrew Morris, threat researcher at Endgame, says this one featured prominently in the leaked "Exploit.in" password dump, which contains over 800 million plaintext usernames and passwords presumably cracked from different sources and leaked onto the darknet.

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: LucasFilm/Disney

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Anything with Jennifer in it

    Anything with Jennifer in it

    This was another trend unearthed in the "Exploit.in" password dump, along with ...

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: 20th Century Fox

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Jesus...

    Jesus...

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: National Geographic

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Maggie...

    Maggie...

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: HBO

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • ...and "TrustNo1."

    ...and "TrustNo1."

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Stefan Kunert/Getty Images/iStockphoto

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Mynoob

    Mynoob

    Too many people (World of Warcraft players maybe?) use this one, according to Keeper Security, which analyzed 10 million passwords that were breached in 2016 and shared a list of the top 25 most common ones.

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Blizzard

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Ut4luke

    Ut4luke

    Shorthand for "Use the Force, Luke."

    "An attacker will be able to guess this one in minutes," says Jason Hong of the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science. "Anything that has a common pattern is easily breakable."

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: LucasFilm/Disney

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Superman

    Superman

    Ajit Sancheti, co-founder and CEO of cybersecurity startup Preempt, and his team, created a list of categories for most common passwords they're seeing. A big one: Fictional characters. If you're a fan of Superman, chances are, so are hackers.

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Warner Bros.

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Rental148

    Rental148

    Maybe it's a reference to the Broadway-musical-turned-movie Rent, or maybe it's just somebody's apartment. Either way, it's a staple in any brute force dictionary these days.

    "We're seeing lots of variations on the word 'rent' plus a string of numbers after it," says RJ Gazarek, a security expert at Thycotic. "Helpful hint - a simple word, and a string of numbers, does not make a strong password."

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • ChrisBrown

    ChrisBrown

    We can't figure out the logic behind this one. But Sancheti says the name is too frequently used, and way too easy to crack.

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Screen Gems

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • YourMom

    YourMom

    Another password that showed up frequently during the "Exploit.in" password dump, according to Morris. Not clever. Not unique. Not smart to use.

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Paramount Pictures

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • MyMomIs#1

    MyMomIs#1

    "This password pattern -- MyMom, MyDad, MySister -- is used widely and included in a lot of brute force dictionaries," Gazarek says.

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: CBS

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • 007Bond

    007Bond

    Here's another one used in a lot of brute force dictionaries. "007Bond, 007Goldfinger, 007BondGirls... although easy to remember, none of these will keep you safe," Gazarek says.

    Need password help?

    • The best password managers for 2019
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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: MGM/Columbia Pictures

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Whatever your cat's name is

    Whatever your cat's name is

    Common pet names are easily cracked right now, says Andrew Newman, CEO of Reason Software Company. That goes for popular names such as Smokey or BabyGirl; or less common pet names, such as Keppie (seen here being WAY too complacent about her password).

    Need password help?

    • The best password managers for 2019
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    • 13 technologies that are safer than passwords
    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Leslie Gornstein for ZDNet

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • NCC1701D

    NCC1701D

    That's the registry number for the Federation ship Enterprise ... but the call letters for the spanking-new Discovery (NCC-1031) probably aren't much safer.

    Need password help?

    • The best password managers for 2019
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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Courtesy of CBS Television Studio, CBS

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Princess

    Princess

    "These [terms] are all in any password dictionary used by hackers," says Matt Devost, managing director of Accenture Security.

    Keep reading for still more terms that are way too popular right now ... both for users and for hackers, according to our security experts.

    Need password help?

    • The best password managers for 2019
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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Shutterstock/Featureflash Photo Agency

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Patriots

    Patriots

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Shutterstock/charnsitr

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • SpongeBob

    SpongeBob

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Paramount Pictures

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • JustinBieber

    JustinBieber

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Paramount Pictures

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Batman

    Batman

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Fox

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • "2beornot2be"

    "2beornot2be"

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: Rank/Universal

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Killer

    Killer

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: HBO

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Dragon

    Dragon

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: HBO

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

  • Hellokitty

    Hellokitty

    Need password help?

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    Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

    Photo by: CTR/iStock

    Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

3 of 26 NEXT PREV
Leslie Gornstein

By Leslie Gornstein | June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

  • Sh1a-labe0uf
  • Admin
  • StarWars
  • Anything with Jennifer in it
  • Jesus...
  • Maggie...
  • ...and "TrustNo1."
  • Mynoob
  • Ut4luke
  • Superman
  • Rental148
  • ChrisBrown
  • YourMom
  • MyMomIs#1
  • 007Bond
  • Whatever your cat's name is
  • NCC1701D
  • Princess
  • Patriots
  • SpongeBob
  • JustinBieber
  • Batman
  • "2beornot2be"
  • Killer
  • Dragon
  • Hellokitty

Everybody knows that 12345 is a bad password. But what they're using instead isn't much stronger

Read More Read Less

StarWars

Andrew Morris, threat researcher at Endgame, says this one featured prominently in the leaked "Exploit.in" password dump, which contains over 800 million plaintext usernames and passwords presumably cracked from different sources and leaked onto the darknet.

Need password help?

  • The best password managers for 2019
  • 5 reasons why you need a password manager
  • Has your password been stolen? Find out with this tool
  • 13 technologies that are safer than passwords
Published: June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

Caption by: Leslie Gornstein

3 of 26 NEXT PREV

Related Topics:

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Leslie Gornstein

By Leslie Gornstein | June 20, 2018 -- 14:55 GMT (07:55 PDT)

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