Internet Users Continue to Amaze with Foolish Passwords
Posted 02/14/09 at 05:51:15 PM by Pulkit Chandna
Comments
Print
Email
It is a disgrace that humans haven’t still got the hang of setting passwords. It seems as though that most internet users have inextricably tethered themselves to a promise of not setting strong-enough passwords, which may force hackers to reconsider their choice of profession for its grueling nature. As you devour more of this story, you will begin to envy hackers for having it stroll-in-the-park easy.
A new study has revealed – rather reiterated - that internet users nonchalantly continue to set unimaginative, fatuous passwords. The study appraised 28,000 passwords that were recently stolen from a U.S website.
Sixteen percent of the users had set their first name as their password. Around fourteen percent chose easiest to recall key combinations, including “1234” and “12345678”. Other users, who apparently don’t rate their mathematical ability highly, chose to steer clear of numbers and settled for passwords such as “AZERTY” and “QWERTY”.
Five percent of the passwords were found to be inspired by popular things and celebrities, including names of movies, TV shows and actors. The strongest password in this category was found to be “Ironman” as it sounds impenetrable.
Three percent of the people reckon passwords are another medium of expression. How else would you explain passwords like “Iloveyou” and “Ihateyou?”
Einstein was right...
Submitted by txboston on Fri, 02/20/2009 - 9:13pm
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure
about the the universe."- Albert Einstein
Yes.
Submitted by cfmwarren on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 12:04pm
I use Truecrypt mentioned in a earlier article, so i have a 20 digit passcode AND the windows password that is 11 digits. Memners of my family are notorious password keepers, but i can imagine the rest of America doing this......
Ah, yes
Submitted by winmaster on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 4:48pm
I use the same password for everything. It is ***********. (You didn't think I'd actually post it, did you?) And while its not 20 characters or random, it gets the job done. At least its not "password". (I know several people with that password, and they all live in my house.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Submitted by cmichael on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 5:22pm
Th3 quick br0wn f0x jumps 0ver th3 l@zy d0g
"I use the same password for
Submitted by I Jedi on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 6:32pm
"I use the same password for everything. It is ***********. (You didn't
think I'd actually post it, did you?) And while its not 20 characters
or random, it gets the job done. At least its not "password". (I know
several people with that password, and they all live in my house.)"Hax0rs are now using every dictionary word in the book against you, common password usage, and number phrases. Be afraid. BE VERY AFRAID.
Submitted by winmaster on Sat, 03/21/2009 - 12:45pm
Hackers can't get much from me anyway. I don't shop online. All that I do from within my web browser is post comments and go on mycokerewards.com. Unless a hacker wants a free mini coke cooler, there ins't much they can take from me.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
Submitted by cmichael on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 11:07am
micr0$0ft $uk$
The best way to protect your computer
Submitted by Svetty Parabols on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 8:28am
NEVER keep anything on it that you wouldn't want to share with people. Memory sticks are cheap. Save your sensitive data to them and just use the computer to run the software. Hackers cant break into something not connected to your computer.
Maybe not...
Submitted by Wareagle on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 8:40am
If you use Windows, even that is vulnerable. If you have file sharing enabled and use a weak password on any account with Administrator access (not sure about Vista, but definitely in XP), any hacker who guesses your password can remotely connect to your computer's management console and share whatever the hell he wants.
Wow
Submitted by Justin.Kerr on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 7:21am
"1,2,3,4,5??? That Amazing. Thats The Same Combination On My Luggage!"
Nice quote from Space Balls.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 3:53pm
Nice quote from Space Balls.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 2:58am
I like my passwords they are peoples names and birthdays. It's impossible to use a dictionary attack against a name with a seemingly random set of numbers. Sure as far as secure passwords go my way is a medium level of security but it will stop all hackers that don't go into my system and delete my password or use keyloggers but then again there are no passwords that can fool a keylogger or someone that gets into your system files and mucks around at lower levels of your OS.
Submitted by Wareagle on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 8:43am
Tools like John the Ripper make it easy to append numbers to a wordlist, and there are plenty of wordlists of peoples' names. They're probably the most common type of password, and if you ever use unsecured or WEP encrypted wireless, it's quite possible to sniff your password hashes and start cracking them at a rate of millions of guesses per second.
I wanted to post the link
Submitted by Cadmium on Sat, 02/14/2009 - 5:19pm
I wanted to post the link from the article, but the url was just too obnixously long.
Srsly needs fixed
Submitted by opulent_rigs on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 11:06am
I have edited the link
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 2:59am
you need to use tinyurl.com to shorton long ass url's.
Submitted by Cadmium on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 6:42am
Why would I tinyurl something that goes nowhere?
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 3:46pm
In your post above you stated that the URL was really long. Tiny URL will shorten it. If it went nowhere then why did you post what you did? Look at your post and ask yourself what I should think.
Submitted by Cadmium on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 4:08pm
I posted what I did to bring attention to the link so as to bring about its correction.
Not only did I ask myself what you should think, but I decided to take the time to tell you what it is that you should be thinking. You should be thinking that you were mistaken and should go and work on your comprehension skills as the meaning of my post was very clear.
Submitted by Keith E. Whisman on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 12:50pm
oh
Submitted by I Jedi on Sat, 02/14/2009 - 5:32pm
Arg, I wish the editor of this article would of included a link/paragraph explaining how to make better passwords, etc. Please visit here and read this article: http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/create.mspx
Careful not to make passwords that are way too hard to remember, or too easy to guess, etc. The article above will explain how to make a good, strong password for yourself. And please, don't use a password generator. Although it may spit out a good combination of characters, you're not going to remember it by heart more than likely. Oh, AND PRACTICE good online safety. Never give out your passwords to anyone you DONT TRUST... including your friends. Try writing your passwords down or putting them onto CD, rather than saving them to your HDD. Then, store said passwords on CD/paper somewhere safe in your house where only you will ever know where it truly is. That, however, is taking it to extremes, but there are times when some passwords are just that important to keep safe.
In the end, the best way to save your password is in your head. So, again, remember a combination you can remember and that you know to be strong and secure.
**EDIT**
Don't think for a second that you're going to be secure 100%. Only the foolish ever believe that. But by making a harder to break password, you're ensuring that you have at least a better measure of security than you did before when you just used "QWERTY". BruteForce always start off with common shit first before moving onto harder to guess passwords.The more characters you have in your password, the harder it is for BruteForce to break it. But again, that all depends how you setup your password and don't make something ridiclous that you can't even remember, then what's the point?
Other users, who
Submitted by airman0 on Sat, 02/14/2009 - 4:28pm
Other users, who apparently don’t rate their mathematical ability highly, chose to steer clear of numbers and settled for passwords such as “AZERTY” and “QWERTY”.
lol
one of my old passwords was unicorn (no one would ever guess that!)
Submitted by cmichael on Sun, 02/15/2009 - 5:24pm
It would take a dictionary attack all of 4 to 5 seconds to find "unicorn" was your passwod.
Submitted by UpsideDownPants on Sun, 02/22/2009 - 9:08pm
It's called "sarcasm"! Look into it.
how about "i@mTh3n1ght"
Submitted by nekollx on Mon, 02/16/2009 - 12:54pm
how about "i@mTh3n1ght"
Must Read Articles
Feature
Review
Feature
Feature
Feature
Most Popular Articles
This Month's Issue
FEATURE How to Get FREE Programs, Services, Software & MoreFEATURE Digital Photo Printer RoundupHOW TOBuild a 3D CameraFEATUREDIY Arcade PCWHITE PAPERHow TRIM Works
Technology News
Computer Cooling Fans
Computer Cases
PC Game Controllers
PC Games
Computer Hardware
Headphones
MP3 Players
Stream Video
Computer Mouse
Monitors
Motherboards
NAS Storage
Networking
Laptop Computers
DVD Burner
Digital Cameras
Portable Storage
Computer Accessories
Smartphone
Antivirus Software
Sound Cards
Speakers
Computer Systems
Thumb Drives
Video Cameras
Video Card Reviews
Water Cooling
Gadgets
- Keyboards
© 2009 Future US, Inc. All Rights Reserved.