Millions of internet users are at risk of having their online accounts hacked because they are still using numerous popular passwords. In fact, some are so easy to guess that cyber thieves can crack them in just one second. The shock findings have just been published by researchers from the team at NordPass with the firm now warning consumers to check their settings.
According to the findings, it appears that people continue to use well-known passwords such as “123456”, “qwerty” and even “password”.
Despite endless warnings about online security, it seems millions of accounts remain open to attack and it’s vital to make sure your password isn’t making it easy for hackers to guess.
Along with revealing the most cracked passwords worldwide, NordPass has also released a list of the most-used in the UK and if you are using any of the phrases below the advice is simple. Change it now for something more secure.
Here are the top 10 most common UK passwords
• 123456
• password
• liverpool
• password1
• 123456789
• 12345
• qwerty
• liverpool1
• charlie
• arsenal
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Here are the top 10 most common worldwide passwords
• 123456
• 123456789
• 12345
• qwerty
• password
• 12345678
• 111111
• 123123
• 1234567890
• 1234567
Along with these frequently used passwords, it was found that a large number of people use their names for codes along with swear words. The NordPass research also discovered that the word dolphin ranked number one among animal-related passwords in many countries.
So what should you do if your password is too simple and you are concerned that your accounts could be at risk? The advice remains clear with most experts advising users to make sure they regularly change their passwords and use a combination that’s difficult to guess.
As NordPass confirms, a complex password is one that contains at least 12 characters and a varied combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
If that sounds too complicated most tech firms such as Apple and Google will generate codes for you which will be saved be securely saved. Using this kind of password generator is the easiest and quickest way to create complex passwords.
Another top tip is to make sure you have different codes for accounts.
A single password for multiple accounts is a hacker’s delight. If only one of the accounts is compromised, consider all your other accounts jeopardized.
Security experts recommend changing passwords every 90 days to keep your accounts secure and bad actors at bay.