“123456” named worst password in 2014

SAN FRANCISCO

The worst passwords of 2014 were “123456” and “password,” according to a new report published Tuesday by a leading provider of password management software.

The top two worst passwords have not changed since SplashData began compiling its annual list in 2011.

New additions in 2014 include “baseball,” “football” and “dragon,” coming in at eight, nine and 10, respectively.

SplashData built its list from the more than 3.3 million passwords that were leaked in 2014. Simple numerical passwords such as “111111” and “123123” made up nine of the top 25 leaked passwords.

The company releases the list every year to encourage stronger passwords. The past year was witness to a series of high profile hackings and continued revelations about the National Security Agency’s surveillance program.

“Passwords based on simple patterns on your keyboard remain popular despite how weak they are,” according to Morgan Slain, the CEO of SplashData, in a release. “Any password using numbers alone should be avoided, especially sequences.”

While simple keyboard patterns remain extremely popular, other worst passwords included sports and teams as well as birthdates and birth years – “1989,” “1990,” “1991” and “1992” were all in the top 100. Names such as “michael,” “jennifer” and “charlie” also permeated the top 100.

“The bad news from my research is that this year's most commonly used passwords are pretty consistent with prior years,” Mark Burnett, an online security expert and author, noted in a release. “The good news is that it appears that more people are moving away from using these passwords. In 2014, the top 25 passwords represented about 2.2 percent of passwords exposed.”

To keep safe online, SplashData recommends using passwords with eight characters or more with a mix of characters. The company also suggests using different username and password combinations for different websites.