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midnightsmum

Weekend Trivia ~ Saturday

Good Saturday morning, Cottagers!! It's a mild, sunny day here. I got all my errands done yesterday, so I can play today!!
Well, to varying degrees, we are all computer users - and that means passwords. It's arguably the easiest, most basic way to protect your personal information. Yet people still don't make the effort to create strong passwords to log in to social media, email, stores and other websites. From its annual compilation of 3.3 million passwords leaked online, SplashData has pulled the 25 most common -- and therefore least secure -- not-so-secret codes.
This year's list also reveals that millennials, who were raised on the Internet and ought to know better, have some bad habits to contribute. SpashData found that many people use their birth year as their password -- and 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1992 are all in the top 100.

So, here is your task: to divine the top 5 unsecure passwords. I will give you one hint right away - the top 5 are all 5 digits or longer!! And oh yes, several are still on the list from 2013!!

Nancy.

Comments (20)

  • thinman
    9 years ago

    No sun here. We have a few inches of new snow with some drifts and it's right at the freezing mark. I'll be snow blowing in a little while, which is fine, since it's been a couple of weeks since I had to do that.

    So passwords. I saw the recent news release and can definitely remember a few. Dumb question, maybe, but by the top five, you probably mean the most used bad passwords, right? As opposed to the five most stupid passwords?

    Example: In my opinion, the password password is the dumbest possible. Would I rank that number one, or could it be number ten because not that many people use it for their password?

    TM

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    9 years ago

    Good one TM, I bet 'Password' is one of them LOL. How about 123456? This is going to be a guessing game for me.

    Annette

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    These are the most commonly used bad passwords, and would it surprise you to know that #6 is 123456? I'll bet not, Annette!! I use so many different passwords at work, for each different system I use. I might seem easy to say use the same one but each system has it's own requirement: a capital, no capitals, a number, no numbers, etc. And they all expire at different time frames. The last time one of my passwords expired, my system would not allow me to change it!! I had to get a lead agent to go in as me from a different computer to change it - and his password he created for me? Password1 - lol.

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    9 years ago

    I just saw something about this either online or in the paper. Can I remember them all? Of course not! Can I rember at least one? Questionable. Sigh. So pathetic.

    I am hunkered down doing school work. Ugh. Five IEPs, two educational reports, and grades due within the next week. Just shoot me now.

    Cynthia

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Teachers do so much that others do not see!! Well, you have 1 & 2!! Doing well, I would say. #3 is a version of #1, and #5 is a kind of keyboard or a pattern. Hmmm...

    Nancy.

  • thinman
    9 years ago

    I'm pretty sure I saw 12345 in the list as well as 111111, or there may have been more 1s.

    I don't know if it made the top five, but I know qwerty is used.

    TM

  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    The ones I remember are the ones listed above, 12345, 11111, password.

    In the low 40s for us, a heat wave! Sunny and gorgeous day. Have spent most of it inside though at a funeral. Not a sad day but a thoughtful day and will miss this dear friend.

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    TM, you are a good guesser!! lol.

    Nancy.

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh Bobbie - funerals are hard. Sorry to hear that. It has been a funny day here - started out sunny, then went overcast and now it is a Scotch mist - not to be confused with the drink!!

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    9 years ago

    Bobbie, it is always difficult to lose a dear friend. It is never easy for those of us left behind, is it?

    Well, I am bleary eyed and bleary brained, if that is possible. I would guess that 12345, 01234, 11111, 10101, and a person's zip code ( but I may be remembering that from the article, not sure) would be used a lot.

    Heading to bed. Would love to stay up to watch the skating, but not sure I can stay awake. Ashley Wagner is from our area, but I am not a huge fan of hers. Hoping Gracie Gold can pull ahead.

    Hope I can come up with something for tomorrow for you all!

    Cynthia

  • aftermidnight Zone7b B.C. Canada
    9 years ago

    How about 000000 or 123ABC?

    Annette

  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    From Nancy's comment I think that some of the others might be a variation of the 123456. 1234567, 12345678, 123456789
    Password, 111111

    No idea in what order.

    Thank you, Nancy and Cynthia for your concern. I'm doing okay and today's service was truly a celebration of her life.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    9 years ago

    Oh yeah, password. Forgot that one.

    Cynthia

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    lol,well, as you have demonstrated the most common are not that hard to guess, or too terribly creative!! It is also noted where they ranked the year before.

    1. 123456 (Unchanged from 2013)

    2. password (Unchanged)

    3. 12345 (Up 17)

    4. 12345678 (Down 1)

    5. qwerty (Down 1)

    I was told by a millenial that patterns were the new thing, and he set a password up for me - q1w2e3r4 - which as it turns out is not that original, or that easy to type into a tablet. I abandoned that for my own form of original. I don't have anything to hacked or data-mined for, so I seem safe.

    I believe everyone had a good idea of the top at the end, so for everyone:
    {{gwi:598938}}

    Hope you had fun with the guessing game. See you all next week. I am back on my diet for the next 2 weeks. The 12 lbs. I lost stayed off nicely over the holiday season, so I am keen to get more off for Spring!! Thanks for playing.

    Nancy.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the article

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    9 years ago

    Such fun! Thanks for the generous stars!

    Congrats on the weight loss! I would love to lose about 15 lbs. No willpower though and a carb addict, I'm afraid. Still, did you do anything special? My goal is to up my exercise by walking the dogs every afternoon after school. Haven't started yet. ðÂÂÂ

    Cynthia

  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    Thanks for the stars. I read that even though those are the most common used passwords the % of people using them is very small and getting smaller each year. They are the most common passwords because most people use passwords that few others use as well.

  • thinman
    9 years ago

    I always wonder how they get these statistics. My understanding is that all of the passwords we use, say the ones for garden web, are stored on servers in encrypted files, and even the system admins can't actually reach in and extract any passwords. That's why, when you forget your password, they always send you a new one, rather than telling you your old one. If they can't get at the passwords, how can anyone know what the most common passwords are?

    Oh, well, I'm sure they have their ways.

    Lots of fun, Nancy. Thank you!

    TM

  • mnwsgal
    9 years ago

    Self reporting, I expect. The same as various polls where one is asked. Who knows if what the person responds is correct or just what that person thinks the poller wants to hear.

  • thinman
    9 years ago

    I always wonder how they get these statistics. My understanding is that all of the passwords we use, say the ones for garden web, are stored on servers in encrypted files, and even the system admins can't actually reach in and extract any passwords. That's why, when you forget your password, they always send you a new one, rather than telling you your old one. If they can't get at the passwords, how can anyone know what the most common passwords are?

    Oh, well, I'm sure they have their ways.

    Lots of fun, Nancy. Thank you!

    TM

  • thinman
    9 years ago

    For the record, I have no idea how the double post happened.

    TM

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