"Star Wars"-related passwords including "starwars," "solo," and "princess" were new entries in SplashData's annual list of worst passwords. The password management company's 2015 list was very similar to the one from 2014 and previous years except for the new keywords from the blockbuster film series. "123456" and "password" topped the list as they have since the company released its first list in 2011.
The other top five passwords on the list included "12345678," "querty," and "12345." Sports terms included "football" and "baseball."
A few of the passwords just tweaked more common weak passwords. They included "1qaz2wsx," (vertical version of qwerty) and "passw0rd" (letter o changed to zero).
Six of the top 10 worst passwords for 2015 were strings of numbers that were easy to remember. Examples included "12345" and "123456."
Some of the new passwords on the 2015 list are longer but the extra length did not make them more secure because they were almost worthless in terms of online security. They include "1234567890" and "qwertyuiop."
SplashData CEO Morgan Slain shared that the longer passwords used simple patterns, according to NBC News. Thus, the risk was as high as identity theft through a hack attack.
The company also explained that common pop culture and sports terms were bad ideas. SplashData hopes that its spotlighting of weak passwords will help people to choose stronger passwords and use different ones for various websites.
SplashData created the list based on over 2 million passwords leaked during the past year, according to CNET. The majority were from North America and Europe.
The company has provided some helpful tips for choosing stronger passwords. For example, they should have 12 or more characters with letters and numbers, and different sites should have a unique password.
Last year many password-related hack attacks made headline news. The hack of the Ashley Madison cheating website involved about 32 million accounts and included users' passwords.
Meanwhile, the hack of LastPass involved stealing passwords from the password storage company. Hackers stole encrypted master passwords and words/phrases used when users forgot their master passwords.
Another interesting hacking case involved Juniper NetScreen Firewalls. Hackers created a backdoor that clandestinely added a master password in the software's source code.
Here are some helpful tips for choosing a strong password: