Password mistakes that can put you at a hacker’s mercy
TOI 10.06.2018
New research indicates that most users rely on the same patterns when making passwords, and reuse the same one for different sites and accounts
businessinsider.in
We are really bad at choosing passwords. According to a new study by a researcher at Virginia Tech and Dashlane, a password manager service, most users make the same mistakes when making passwords, such as making it the name of a popular brand or sports team.
And while these things make passwords easy to remember, they make passwords easily guessable by hackers. The study evaluated 6.1 million anonymised passwords gathered by Gang Wang, a computer science researcher at Virginia Tech, and analysed by Dashlane. Those passwords come from the massive troves of user personal data that have been leaked in data breaches over the years. Here are the common mistakes people make, and what you should avoid:
Recycling the same password (or modifying it slightly) for every website
According to Wang’s initial study, more than half of users reused the same password from site to site or modified it slightly. “It is difficult for humans to memorise unique passwords for the 150+ accounts the average person has,” Wang says in a statement. “This danger has been amplified by the massive data breaches which have given attackers more effective tools for guessing and hacking passwords.”
Password walking
Password walking refers to the practice of using combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols that are adjacent to one another on the keyboard, like ‘qwerty’ and ‘123456’. Here are some other common password walking Dashlane researchers found: 1q2w3e4r, 1qaz2wsx, 1qazxsw2, 1qaz@wsx.
Strong expressions of love or hate
Another common practice that Dashlane researchers found is strong expressions of love or hate, with hateful passwords most often expressed with choice words. Here are the most common love/ hate passwords Dashlane found: iloveyou, f*ckyou, a**hole, f*ckoff, iloveme, trustno1, ihateyou, bullsh*t, lovelove.
Brands
Researchers found that c om mon brands also appeared in many passwords. Here are the most common brands used in passwords. myspace, mustang, linkedin, Ferrari, playboy, mercedes, cocacola, snickers, corvette.
Pop culture references
Popu l a r movies, music, and TV shows also made their way into passwords used in the study. Here are the most common ones: superman, pokemon, slipknot, starwars, metallica, nirvana, blink182, spiderman, rockstar.
Champions League
Dashlane found a ton of sportsrelated passwords, but the Champions League topped them all. Here are the most common Champions League passwords: liverpool, chelsea, arsenal, barcelona, manchester.
Here are some ways to write a good, hacker-proof password:
Use a unique password for every online account. Generate passwords that exceed the minimum of eight characters and create them with a mix of case-sensitive letters, numbers, and special symbols. Also, you should consider avoiding passwords that contain common phrases, slang, places, or names. If you are not confident, take help from a password manager to generate, store, and manage your passwords.
Don’t make your password the name of a Champions League football team or a TV show
TOI 10.06.2018
New research indicates that most users rely on the same patterns when making passwords, and reuse the same one for different sites and accounts
businessinsider.in
We are really bad at choosing passwords. According to a new study by a researcher at Virginia Tech and Dashlane, a password manager service, most users make the same mistakes when making passwords, such as making it the name of a popular brand or sports team.
And while these things make passwords easy to remember, they make passwords easily guessable by hackers. The study evaluated 6.1 million anonymised passwords gathered by Gang Wang, a computer science researcher at Virginia Tech, and analysed by Dashlane. Those passwords come from the massive troves of user personal data that have been leaked in data breaches over the years. Here are the common mistakes people make, and what you should avoid:
Recycling the same password (or modifying it slightly) for every website
According to Wang’s initial study, more than half of users reused the same password from site to site or modified it slightly. “It is difficult for humans to memorise unique passwords for the 150+ accounts the average person has,” Wang says in a statement. “This danger has been amplified by the massive data breaches which have given attackers more effective tools for guessing and hacking passwords.”
Password walking
Password walking refers to the practice of using combinations of letters, numbers, and symbols that are adjacent to one another on the keyboard, like ‘qwerty’ and ‘123456’. Here are some other common password walking Dashlane researchers found: 1q2w3e4r, 1qaz2wsx, 1qazxsw2, 1qaz@wsx.
Strong expressions of love or hate
Another common practice that Dashlane researchers found is strong expressions of love or hate, with hateful passwords most often expressed with choice words. Here are the most common love/ hate passwords Dashlane found: iloveyou, f*ckyou, a**hole, f*ckoff, iloveme, trustno1, ihateyou, bullsh*t, lovelove.
Brands
Researchers found that c om mon brands also appeared in many passwords. Here are the most common brands used in passwords. myspace, mustang, linkedin, Ferrari, playboy, mercedes, cocacola, snickers, corvette.
Pop culture references
Popu l a r movies, music, and TV shows also made their way into passwords used in the study. Here are the most common ones: superman, pokemon, slipknot, starwars, metallica, nirvana, blink182, spiderman, rockstar.
Champions League
Dashlane found a ton of sportsrelated passwords, but the Champions League topped them all. Here are the most common Champions League passwords: liverpool, chelsea, arsenal, barcelona, manchester.
Here are some ways to write a good, hacker-proof password:
Use a unique password for every online account. Generate passwords that exceed the minimum of eight characters and create them with a mix of case-sensitive letters, numbers, and special symbols. Also, you should consider avoiding passwords that contain common phrases, slang, places, or names. If you are not confident, take help from a password manager to generate, store, and manage your passwords.
Don’t make your password the name of a Champions League football team or a TV show
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