Do You Have a Sufficiently Secure Password on the Internet?

Everyone has set up an internet security password at some point. You’ve probably noticed that most applications, emails, and services provide tips on what password to choose and how many characters it should have to be as secure as possible. Nevertheless, many of us still take it lightly. Let’s look at the annual survey of 200 most common passwords conducted by NordPass. The results are very interesting.

Over 70% of Passwords Can Be Broken Within One Second

The NordPass study examines user passwords for their accounts worldwide and identified which ones are the most popular. The fact is that more than 78% of all passwords can be broken in less than a second. This doesn’t paint a very positive picture of the security of our chosen passwords. The biggest problems are caused by keywords or our favorite words and names. So if your password consists of your first name and year of birth, pet’s name, or your children’s names, you should change it as soon as possible.

One Password for All Accounts

According to the mentioned study, more than half of the most widely used passwords worldwide were created this year using the simplest combinations of numbers and letters on the keyboard. The most popular password is actually the most banal one – 123456!

Not only the complexity of our chosen passwords but also their (lack of) differentiation across various accounts should concern us. Most of us have one password that we use across different accounts, both personal and work-related. Once a hacker breaks this password, they can subsequently attack all our accounts. By having a different password for each account, you achieve higher security. On the other hand, I understand – who can remember all of that, right? The fact is that up to 40% of passwords were identical for both personal and work accounts, without people differentiating them in any way.

Our Most Popular Passwords

Last year, the most popular password was the word “qwerty”. This year, it was caught up by a similarly weak password “qwerty123”. This is reportedly the most common password in several countries.

According to this survey, for Czechs, the most popular password is the word “admin” followed by the previously mentioned number 123456. Other popular passwords include 123456789, “Heslo1234”, “user”, “bara1234”, “maminka123” and others. In short, combinations of names or favorite words and numbers win. It probably won’t surprise anyone that the word “Sparta” is also among favorite Czech passwords.

Slovaks are almost the same as Czechs when it comes to passwords. Their most popular passwords include “tomasko”, “veronika” or “slovensko”.

Another interesting fact is that people set the weakest passwords for streaming services. Conversely, for bank accounts, they try to make passwords more complex and harder to crack. This is quite logical because none of us wants to lose money.

How Do Americans Handle It?

According to this survey, the word “secret” became Americans’ favorite password this year. Up to 40% of people chose this password. This “secret” pushed last year’s favorite password, which was the number “123456”, to second place. On the other hand, this number is otherwise globally in first position. So we already know the first two places. What do Americans have in other positions? Other popular passwords are “password”, “qwerty123”, but also “iloveyou” or “baseball”. Interesting passwords also include “princess” or “monkey”.

Corporate Passwords Should Be Changed

Corporate account passwords also receive poor ratings overall. It’s evident that employees are given passwords with the expectation that they’ll change them personally. However, they apparently don’t want to. Keeping the already set password is more convenient. And so passwords like “newmember”, “admin”, “welcome” lead the way, and the most common ones are “newpass” or “temppass”. However, such behavior can pose a great danger to companies. Using a simple or unchanged password, hackers can easily break into the entire company’s network. It can be said that a “comfortable” employee becomes a threat to the whole company because their simple password can cost the employer quite a lot, including know-how.

How to Properly Set Up Your Passwords – Personal and Corporate?

To prevent hackers from attacking your personal or corporate accounts, it’s necessary to set them up properly. Let’s look at how passwords should be structured to be as secure as possible.

A truly secure password should be really long. The ideal length is around 20 characters. According to experts, the longer the password is, the more secure it appears. Security is also ensured by combining uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and random characters. Experts also recommend using a string of randomly combined words. These can be easy to remember, but if they’re words that don’t make sense together, it will be difficult for hackers to crack them.

Another rule we should follow, although we usually don’t, is to have a different password for each account. Once a hacker breaks one password, they will try to attack your other accounts. If you have the same password everywhere, it will be a matter of seconds for them.

Whenever you have the opportunity, switch from passwords to passkeys. These currently represent the most secure variant of account protection. Most companies now provide passkeys. For example, Microsoft, Google, or Apple.

For companies, experts recommend enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This ensures the security of not only individual accounts but also sensitive data of the entire company. NordPass, which is a password manager for business clients and consumers, can help with this. It allows all passwords to be encrypted, so only the user has access to them. Thanks to this, you get secure access from computers, mobile phones, and other devices at an affordable price. More information about this password manager can be found in our NordPass review.