Time to check your password. Password management company SplashData has analyzed millions of passwords released online by hackers to compile its list of the most used passwords of 2012.
Once again, "password," "123456" and "12345678" were the top three most common passwords.
But there were some interesting new additions to the list. "Jesus" and "Welcome" were new. So were "ninja," "mustang" and, intriguingly, "password1."
Our favorite password on the list, "trustno1," fell three spots from last year, making it only the 12th most common password. "Shadow" moved up one spot to No. 18 from No. 19. And "monkey" remained unchanged at No. 6.
SplashData recommends that if you use one of the passwords on this list, you change it immediately.
"Even though each year hacking tools get more sophisticated, thieves still tend to prefer easy targets," said Morgan Slain, SplashData's chief executive, said in a statement. "Just a little bit more effort in choosing better passwords will go a long way toward making you more secure online."
Here's the list in its entirety (with some of our favorites in bold):
1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. abc123
5. qwerty
6. monkey
7. letmein
8. dragon
9. 111111
10. baseball
11. iloveyou
12. trustno1
Poster Comment:
Thank God, I was worried that my password "nigger" would show up on that list.....