The 25 most popular passwords of 2013 prove people are just as naive as ever

Shawn Knight

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passwords

You would think that with all of the newfound attention that online privacy generated over the course of 2013, people would perhaps rethink some of their mundane password choices to better lock down their online accounts. Think again. A list of the top 25 most common passwords of last year proves we’re just as naïve as ever.

The list from SplashData was compiled from the millions of stolen passwords last year that were ultimately made public. The list was heavily influenced by the massive Adobe breach in October which explains some of the newcomers and for the first time ever, “password” was dethroned as the most common password… by “123456.”

Without further ado, we present the top 25 most common passwords of 2013.

1. 123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. 123456789
7. 111111
8. 1234567
9. iloveyou
10. adobe123
11. 123123
12. admin
13. 1234567890
14. letmein
15. photoshop
16. 1234
17. monkey
18. shadow
19. sunshine
20. 12345
21. password1
22. princess
23. azerty
24. trustno1
25. 000000

In addition to “adobe123” and “photoshop,” security experts believe that “123456” and “123456789” were also top choices among Adobe users. As SplashData CEO Morgan Slain reminds us, the fact that “adobe123” and “photoshop” are on the list at all should be a good reminder that basing your password on the name of the website or application you are accessing is not exactly a bright idea.

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What's amazing is some of the most computer savvy and best IT professionals I know use horrible passwords like these.
 
My guess is that using horrible passwords is the result of knowing too little or too much. At least my favorite (for non-financial purposes) wasn't on the list. I use it for all sorts of stupid 'password required' situations.
 
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This is what I want to know. Without some software recording everyones passwords, how do they know what password everyone uses? The whole idea behind this topic suggest they know what password everyone uses. Under that assumption why use a password at all? I find this whole research a lie, because they couldn't possible know what the most common passwords are without monitoring what everyone uses.
 
This is what I want to know. Without some software recording everyones passwords, how do they know what password everyone uses? The whole idea behind this topic suggest they know what password everyone uses. Under that assumption why use a password at all? I find this whole research a lie, because they couldn't possible know what the most common passwords are without monitoring what everyone uses.
Well the article says that they looked for already stolen passwords that went public and made a research from that. Means they didn't record anything I guess.
 
"The list from SplashData was compiled from the millions of stolen passwords last year that were ultimately made public."
That's how they know.
 
'1' was not on that list, as most sites would require a 5+ character string.
 
Adobe users? I assume that is referring to their website? Yeah, I used to use a silly password like these for Adobe when they required me to create an account just to download software. Sometimes it's just to shut-up these websites which require registrations.
 
Adobe users? I assume that is referring to their website? Yeah, I used to use a silly password like these for Adobe when they required me to create an account just to download software. Sometimes it's just to shut-up these websites which require registrations.

Unless you're using pirated software...most people are logged into adobe.com when using adobe apps.
Creative Cloud after all...
 
Unless you're using pirated software...most people are logged into adobe.com when using adobe apps.
Creative Cloud after all...
I haven't purchased any Adobe products in the past 5-6 years. Guess I've missed out on that Cloud excitement with Adobe XD. If my documents were up on the Adobe cloud I'd use stronger passwords. But if it's just toolbar settings, like in cases for Office 2013, I could care less if someone breaks that password and changes my buttons to their heart's desire. With me it's about registering to get redistributable downloads to put up on the corp intranet support website.
 
The world would be a better place If everyone start to use password managers.
 
One coincidence is that my brother's ex wife's password for her laptop was password1, and Kim Komando announced it on her show the next weekend as the most common password used at that time. Put passwords on the air, huh? One thing I hate about windows 8.1 is that you HAVE to use a password, and it has to be a strong one, in your own apartment.
 
One thing I hate about windows 8.1 is that you HAVE to use a password
Another strike against Win8.1. I will not use a password, when I am the only one that uses the machine and have nothing to hide. If MS wants to force the use of a password, they can forget about me ever using a new OS of theirs.

Just this afternoon, I grew agitated when ask for login credentials to my own machine from another. I purposely share specific folders and leave them wide open to prevent these closed doors. But yet I am constantly finding machines that for some unseen reason can not connect. Talk about instant anger. I'd love to scalp Balmer every time I am asked for login credential (whether it be bootup or networking), especially when I go way out of my way to leave that door wide open.
 
As per bluetooth passwords which are rarely changed. "0000" should be on there as number 1. For every cell phone, blue tooth radio, blue tooth speakers, etc.
 
There are many very inconsequential websites that demand more complex logins than my bank! They act like they're Fort Knox. E.g. My Aqua water account. I suppose they fear someone's going to break into my account and pay my bill. What REALLY works well is a good password manager, which you can find online. Just one complex password, worth memorizing, gives me secure access to all the rest AND with automatic information fill-in to boot. -rjd
 
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