Worst Passwords of 2020
Each annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, social media is bombarded with tips for secure passwords, such as use strings of at least eight random characters, avoid your pet’s name, or include random symbols. But what specifically are the worst passwords to avoid?
Enter the NordPass “Top 200 Most Common Passwords of the Year 2020.” This extensive list provides eye-opening information about recent passwords that have become so prevalent that many can be hacked in mere seconds or less.
Methodology: The NordPass list of passwords was compiled in partnership with a third-party company specializing in data breach research. The company evaluated a database that contained 275,699,516 passwords in total.
Several categories are broken out for you here with additional information for each password that you won’t find grouped within the password types on the NordPass list.
Check these category lists for your password. If you find your password on any of these lists, take a moment to change it today.
The love of sports is universal, but so are terrible passwords. Make sure your password that reminds you of your favorite sport isn’t on this list.
The top password in this category, “soccer,” was exposed approximately 314,004 times.
| Password | Number of Users | Time to Hack |
|---|---|---|
| soccer | 31,805 | Less than a Second |
| football | 28,496 | Less than a Second |
| baseball | 28,278 | Less than a Second |
| basketball | 22,060 | 10 Seconds |
| football1 | 16,662 | Less than a Second |
Stop to think before you set up a password with or your name or the name of your loved one. Don’t let your first name be all that stands between a hacker and your online security.
Other overused name passwords include “charlie,” “jordan,” and “michelle.”
| Password | Number of Users | Time to Hack |
|---|---|---|
| aaron431 | 90,256 | 3 Hours |
| ashley | 52,031 | 2 Minutes |
| michael | 28,754 | 8 Seconds |
| daniel | 27,076 | 5 Seconds |
| samantha | 23,168 | Less than a Second |
These food passwords were less common than they were in 2019, but the top choices still resulted in a combined total of approximately 942,314 exposures.
Here’s some of the most common food-related passwords:
| Password | Number of Users | Time to Hack |
|---|---|---|
| Chocolate | 21,409 | 3 Seconds |
| Cookie | 20,065 | Less than a Second |
| Cheese | 15,994 | Less than a Second |
| Peanut | 15,832 | Less than a Second |
Avoiding words such as “password,” “thisisapassword,” “password1” is a no-brainer, but how secure are those variations on the alphabet or numerical system that you set as a password when you’re in a rush?
View the full random letters list at: nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list
| Password | Number of Users | Time to Hack |
|---|---|---|
| abc123 | 151,804 | Less than a Second |
| qqww1122 | 85,476 | 52 Minutes |
| 123456a | 57,472 | Less than a Second |
| a123456 | 55,548 | Less than a Second |
| asdfghjkl | 52,961 | Less than a Second |
“Pets” was not a category that was broken out in the NordPass list, but pet names continue to be one of the most widely-used passwords for the everyday user.
We found several names in the NordPass list that are a fit for this category.
| Password | Number of Users | Time to Hack |
|---|---|---|
| Tigger | 23,706 | 3 Seconds |
| Buster | 20,065 | Less than a Second |
| Pepper | 17,031 | Less than a Second |
If you found a password in this article that is similar to yours, World Password Day is the perfect opportunity to change the password and improve your online security. Consider using a password generator to create a randomized string of characters that you can save in a password manager.
View the full “Top 200 Most Common Passwords of the Year 2020″ list by NordPass: nordpass.com/most-common-passwords-list
