When guessing passwords, hackers start with the most common passwords. According to research by NordPass, the top 10 passwords from 2022 are:
- password
- 123456
- 123456789
- guest
- qwerty
- 12345678
- 111111
- 12345
- col123456
- 123123
Are any of your passwords on this list?
Creating, storing, and remembering passwords can be an inconvenience for all of us online. Still, the truth is that passwords are your first line of defense against cybercriminals and data breaches. Also, it has never been easier to maintain your passwords with free, simple-to-use password managers. With forethought today, you can stay safe online for years to come.
Long, Unique, Complex
No matter what account it protects, a password should be:
Long and Complex
A good password is at least 16 characters long and uses a variety of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. An effortless way to create complex passwords is to use a password generator, like those built into password managers.
Unique and Random
Reusing a password on multiple accounts makes a hacker’s job easier. When you instead use unique passwords for each account, if one of your accounts becomes compromised, your other accounts remain secure.
How strong are your passwords?
A password strength tester gauges how long it might take to crack your password by testing the password against a set of known criteria–such as length, randomness, and complexity.
Using a strength tester is an easy step to securing your online profile. In seconds, they help you determine whether your passwords are strong enough to protect your accounts.
You can test the strength of your passwords using the Password Strength Testing Tool | Bitwarden.
Remembering every password is hard
You probably have a lot of online accounts with many passwords to remember. The truth is that you do not have to remember all your passwords. If you use a password manager, you don’t need to rack your brain at every login screen. You only need to remember one password to unlock your password manager vault.