Is Your Password Doing It's Job?

Lately there have been many news reports of stolen data, usually stolen from a large store, or even a bank.  So you may need to change your passwords more frequently than you would like.  But despite all the warnings about the importance of passwords, and all the security breaches that have happened, research by SplashData reveals that “123456” was the most common password in 2014.  This was followed by “password.”  “12345” was in third place, with “12345678” and “qwerty” rounded up the top spots.  Also on the list of common passwords were “baseball,”  “dragon,” and “football.” The data for this analysis was compiled from more than 3.3 million that were leaked on the internet last year.

If you’re password is one of  these, or of a similar nature, let us reassure you that the time it takes to fix a potential mess of stolen information will vastly outweigh the time needed to memorize a secure password. So tisk, tisk, if you have a password that even a preschooler could crack.

Did you know that any idiot with a couple hundred bucks on their hands can purchase software that hacks passwords by repeatedly trying different combinations of common phrases, numbers, phone numbers, and words from the dictionary.  For maximum security, your password should have both letters and numbers, and any actual words or names should be misspelled or have numbers substituting for letters.  So get busy and keep yourself as safe as you can.  Make your password do it's job.