"123456" is the worst password to use

"123456" is the worst password to use

NEW YORK - The worst password of 2013 is '123456' according to new research.

The 25 most common passwords have been released by Splashdata which makes password management applications.

"password" had held the top spot in the rankings since the annual list began to be compiled. In 2013 it slipped to number two on the list.

The swap is due largely to the major security breach at software company Adobe in October which affected tens of millions of users.

A large number of personal details and passwords were posted online.

Splashdata's list shows that many people use easily guessable passwords.

Some other passwords in the Top Ten include "qwerty," "abc123," "111111," and "iloveyou."

Morgan Slain, CEO of SplashData said: "Seeing passwords like 'adobe123' and 'photoshop' on this list offers a good reminder not to base your password on the name of the website or application you are accessing.

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"Another interesting aspect of this year's list is that more short numerical passwords showed up even though websites are starting to enforce stronger password policies."

Passwords such as 1234" at number 16, "12345" at number 20, and "000000" at number 25 are all new to this year's list.

The data was released to encourage the adoption of stronger passwords.

Mr Slain added: "As always, we hope that with more publicity about how risky it is to use weak passwords, more people will start taking simple steps to protect themselves by using stronger passwords and using different passwords for different websites."

SplashData's top 25 list was compiled from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online during the previous year.

The company advises consumers or businesses using any of the passwords on the list to change them immediately.

Splashdata warned that even passwords with common substitutions like "dr4mat1c" can be vulnerable to attackers' increasingly sophisticated technology.

They also suggest that random words should be used for passwords rather than common phrases, and using the same the same username and password combination for multiple websites should be avoided.

They say that it is especially risky to use the same password for entertainment sites as for email and social networking accounts.

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

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