Worst Passwords of 2016 [ including tips for strong passwords ]

    Worst Passwords 2016
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    In this digital world, the password is the new hello. It is in the sense that we got to use passwords everywhere. Passwords are the means of securing our data and information. Passwords are something we use in our mobiles and routers to make them secure. But how strong or stupid our current passwords are, let’s find out Worst Passwords.

    Worst Passwords of 2016

    Before moving to the strength of one’s password, I’d like to share few of the worst passwords of 2016. They are called worst because they are the easiest one to crack and are being used the most. The worst passwords of this year aren’t much different than those of previous years. Yes, few passwords got up the list and few got down in the list. Let’s not go into actually ranking of such passwords. It’ll be easier to address them without ordering. No matter if it happens to be a No. 1 or No. 25 in the ranking, it is still the worst password and you should never use it.

    Here is the list of worst Passwords of 2016:

    • 123456
    • password
    • qwerty
    • abc123
    • 1234567890
    • 9876543210
    • qwertyuiop
    • 1qaz2wsx
    • welcome
    • monkey
    • football
    • baseball
    • letmein
    • login
    • princess
    • master
    • 123123
    • 111111
    • passw0rd
    • starwars

    Well, there are still many to this list. By now, you must have got an overview. So don’t use generic words and numbers as your password. Plus, the sequential ordering of numbers and letters is the worst password one can come up with.

    Tips for generating strong passwords?

    how strong is my password

    Yes, there are few website and apps that claim to generate strongest of a password for you. But I recommend you not to use one. Not because they are not safe or secure. But passwords generated that way will be something hard for you to remember. So, the best would be generating the password on your own. By keeping few things in mind one can come up with a strong password possible.

    1. It’s always better to use longer passwords.
    2. It’s never recommended to use a phrase as a password by omitting spaces. E.g. Do not use something like “SheIsMine”
    3. It’s wiser to use unrelated words while keeping them in the password. E.g. Do not use related groups of words like “WaterDrinksIce” rather prefer something like “BirdsBikeDesertHoliday”
    4. Use UpperCases, LowerCases, Special Characters, Numbers but not in a generic way like it’s not wiser to use two or three consecutive numbers at the end. Rather, put them somewhere in the middle and not in a consecutive way. E.g. “LetsGoShopping99” isn’t as strong as “Let$7G0$hopping9”
    5. Do not use same passwords on different platforms. I repeat, do not use same passwords for different websites. If someone cracks your password for one site, all your digital world will be at stake.

    This isn’t a hard and fast rule you must follow. It is something in my opinion and experience that I find handy to generate a stronger password. Lastly, you can check how strong your password is, by testing in the websites like PasswordMeter. That said, no password is 100% strong and secure.