After Analyzing 32 Million Passwords, This Is What I Can Say
It is surely a relief that more security features are there now
The humunguous task of analyzing passwords I started, I had to first collect data. Fortunately for me, I finally ended up more than I, me and anybody could have thought. Yes, a whopping 32 million passwords, which also tells that it is easy for your passwords to get leaked. That is the status quo of security in front of you.
But, first let's look at the data sources, I have:
The ones in the bold are my biggest contributors. If you also want to play around with this data, I recommend this excellent resource I found.
Here's my analysis then:
I found a total of 32 millions passwords out of which 23 million were unique. Given the sources were unique and had no overlap, it shows that an astounding 7 millions passwords were repeated, which shows our choices as passwords are not that unique.
So, let's see top 100 common passwords:
We definitely are lazy when it comes to passwords and end putting very easy to guess passwords. My personal favourite is the ironic password i.e. Password.
And that is not the end of our limited creativity, if we just have to put any number after alphabetical passwords, we just go with 1.
It's like leaving the door open for anybody to come in.
So, let me give you some good tips for keeping passwords today:
How To Keep Passwords 101
I know we feel lazy while keeping passwords, so, let's have some lazy tricks to ourselves:
Use of Special Characters
Instead of 'a' and 's' in your password, use '@' and '$'.
So, if your name is Aaron Smith, you password can be '@@ron$mith'. Now, this one is a bit harder than the normal one, you would have gone for 'aaronsmith'.
Mix It Up With Lowercase and Uppercase Characters
Rather than going for the whole password to be in lowercase like 'aaronsmith'.
You can mix it up, like 'AaRonSMitH'.
The Headache of Alphanumerics
Every place you go they keep a set number of chracters then they ask you to put alphabets, numbers and special characters.
So, instead of putting 1s, 2s or your date of births in the end, you can do this:
Replace 'i' with 1, 'o' with 0 (zero the number), and 'f' with 8.
They do look alike, so, you don't have to stress yourself to remember it.
So, our original 'aaronsmith' after using this trick will become 'aar0nm1th'.
Be Creative And Definitely Unpredictable
So, the final password you keep should be a mix of all these tricks above:
In my case, I will end up:
'aaronsmith' -> '@@R0nSm1tH'
I don't have to take the pain of adding numbers in the end, I have definitely satisfied the length of the password and the password looks hard enough.
Takeaways
The next time you keep your passwords, have some fun with these tricks. We can let go of the habit of keeping easy passwords. Because nowadays, we have enough technology to help us out.
You can use a Password Manager. Here are some of the good ones.
Also, if you still want to be lazy and not keep a good password, I would recommend opting for 2-way authentication on everything, so, at least you get a message on your phone, anytime, somebody tries to break in. Even, if you are keeping good passwords, still make sure to opt for this great security feature.
Here's how you can do it for your Google Account.
Here's how you can do it for your Amazon Account.
Here's how you can do it for your Instagram Account.
Here's how you can do it for your Facebook Account.
Here's how you can do it for your Twitter Account.
Here's how you can do it for your Snapchat Account.
Here's how you can do it for your WhatsApp Account.
Here's how you can do it for your PayPal Account.
Your security whether its personal or online is in your hands and you should use all the weapons that you can use.
One of the important pillars of cybersecurity is information, now that part I have covered for you.
The next, the most important part is positive action.
That is in your hands, so, please do your duty, and keep your safety online.
Happy surfing online!
About the Creator
Abhishek Verma
To be free and alive is the greatest thing we can do for ourselves. Through poetry, I aim for you to feel more free and alive in every moment you breathe. Thank you.
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