Independent researchers, who requested to stay anonymous, compiled and shared with security firm NordPass a list of the 200 most popular passwords that were leaked in data breaches just in 2019. The database contains 500 millions leaked passwords.
“The most popular passwords contain all the obvious and easy to guess number combinations (12345, 111111, 123321), popular female names (Nicole, Jessica, Hannah), and just strings of letters forming a horizontal or vertical line on a QWERTY keyboard (asdfghjkl, qazwsx, 1qaz2wsx, etc.). Surprisingly, the most obvious one — “password” — remains very popular: 830,846 people still use it.”
Below are the recommendations provided by the experts:
1.Go over all the accounts you have and delete the ones you no longer use.
2.Update all your passwords and use unique, complex passwords to protect your accounts. Use a password generator.
3.Use 2 Factor Authentication if you can.
4.Set up a password manager.
5.Be vigilant for suspicious activities. If you notice something unusual, change your password immediately.
Read more about it here.