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Over at What’s My Pass, an excellent blog concerning passwords and security, I recently discovered a list of the 500 most overused and therefore, WORST passwords in the world.

From the moment people started using passwords, it didn’t take long to realize how many people picked the very same passwords over and over. Even the way people misspell words is consistent. In fact, people are so predictable that most hackers make use of lists of common passwords just like these. To give you some insight into how predictable humans are, the following is a list of the 500 most common passwords. If you see your password on this list, please change it immediately. Keep in mind that every password listed here has been used by at least hundreds if not thousands of other people.

So what do we think of when we think of passwords? Well, it seems we think mainly of simplicity, leisure time, and SEX!

Some of my favorites on the list include the number one most common password in the world, 123456, followed closely by the so stupid it is almost smart, password. I was also very fond of Eagle1 at 314 (more Space:1999 fans out there?) letmein at 11 (a bit plaintive and small sounding) and Jenny’s classic number in a bit of 80s retro, 8675309 at 371. Of the sex terms, I enjoyed the sheer hyperactive desperation of 696969 at number 9. Of course there are a lot of even more obscene or sexual terms (we geeks are a randy bunch) along with first names, car models and sports teams. All in all, the list is fascinating as a snapshot into the lives and fantasies of computer users.

The big surprises for me? Default or admin didn’t make the list. Perhaps there is hope yet.

For a good laugh, a little insight, and some practical advice on what password NOT to use, check out the full list HERE.

Thanks to David Spark for the tip.

Zealot (476 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

By day a department manager and writer for a major network device vendor...by night Zealot stalks the mean magnetic streets, striking fear into the hearts of bandwidth abusers and theme park mascots. Zealot has been involved with mobile devices for more than a decade now, starting off with dumb phones, moving to PDAs and then to smartphones, notebooks and netbooks with the odd PMP thrown in. Most of his mobile time currently is spent on a Treo Pro, Zune HD, Thinkpad T61, Gigabyte M912M or a Hackintoshed Compaq Mini 704. He proudly groks the Geek community and considers himself a Neo Maxi Zune Dweebie (thanks Will Wheaton!).