What are your 7 best tips for creating a strong password?
- Create Strong Passwords. ...
- Avoid Passwords Containing Info Easily Found Online. ...
- Use a Unique Password for Every Website or App. ...
- Avoid Linked Accounts. ...
- Use Multi-Factor Authentication. ...
- Beware Where You Enter Your Password. ...
- Take Note When a Data Breach Occurs.
The most common password in the world this year was the infamously bad “password”, and it took hackers under one second to crack it. The same goes for the second and third most common passwords: “123456″ and “123456789”, respectively.
A strong password should be impossible to guess, and that means using a mixture of lowercase and capital letters, numbers and symbols. Passwords are stronger the longer they are and shouldn't contain any intuitive patterns or memorable keyboard paths that can easily be guessed, like 123, ABC or QWERT.
- It starts with a passphrase, “I want ice cream! for dinner in Kentucky?”
- Uses a rule to keep the first 2 letters of every word and capitalize every second letter.
- Long at 14 characters.
- Uses special characters: “!” and “?”
- Includes uppercase and lowercase letters.
Use a mix of alphabetical and numeric characters. Use a mixture of upper- and lowercase; passwords are case sensitive. Use a combination of letters and numbers, or a phrase like “many colors” using only the consonants, e.g., mnYc0l0rz or a misspelled phrase, e.g., 2HotPeetzas or ItzAGurl .
- At least 12 characters long but 14 or more is better.
- A combination of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
- Not a word that can be found in a dictionary or the name of a person, character, product, or organization.
- Significantly different from your previous passwords.
- guest.
- 123456.
- password.
- 12345.
- a1b2c3.
- 123456789.
- Password1.
- 1234.
- password.
- 123456.
- 123456789.
- guest.
- qwerty.
- 12345678.
- 111111.
- 12345.
- Four-digit PINs of the following kinds: 1234, 0000, 2580, 1111, 5555, 5683, 0852, 2222, 1212.
- Six-digit PINs of the following kinds: 123456, 654321, 111111, 000000, 123123, 666666, 121212, 112233, 789456, 159753.
The safest 4-digit PIN is '8068' — or at least it was, until researchers at Data Genetics told everyone this week. The researchers there went through a set of 3.4 million four-digit personal identification numbers and found "8068" came up only 25 times.
What passwords do hackers use?
The honeypot data also shows that passwords used by attackers are by and large the most popular ones, such as "admin", "password", and "123456".
What is considered a strong password? Instead of common words that are easy to guess, essential components of a secure password include sufficient length and a mix of special characters, numbers, and uppercase and lowercase letters.

Rank | 2011 | 2019 |
---|---|---|
1 | password | 123456 |
2 | 123456 | 123456789 |
3 | 12345678 | qwerty |
4 | qwerty | password |
That usually means the password must be a minimum of 8 characters and should contain at least one upper- and lower-case letter, a number, and a symbol.
What does 'Simple password' mean? Simple passwords only have lower case letters and numbers. They are easier to remember but might also be easier for someone else to guess.
An 8- or 12-digit PIN is more secure than a traditional 4-digit number, but it's also harder to remember, unless it is already in your memory.
Include a mix of symbols, number and both upper and lower case letters. Weak passwords use short, common words. Protect your passwords from both dictionary attacks and brute-force attacks by using a range of letters, numbers and symbols.
In collaboration with independent cybersecurity researchers evaluating a four terabyte database, the company found 123456 was the mostly commonly used password in the world, with over 100 million instances of its use.
Having a long mix of upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers is the best way make your password more secure. A 12-character password containing at least one upper case letter, one symbol and one number would take 34,000 years for a computer to crack.
In general a 10 character password of any complexity will be very hard to crack and a 15 character or longer password of any complexity will be all but uncrackable. Increasing your password's length from 8 characters to 10 characters will require an average of 5,476 times more work to crack.
How strong is a 14 digit password?
When it comes to minimum password length, 14-character passwords are generally considered secure, but they may not be enough to keep your enterprise safe. The password has long been the most widely used mechanism for user authentication, but it has also long been the...
This is often called the “8 4 Rule” (Eight Four Rule): 8 = 8 characters minimum length. 4 = 1 lower case + 1 upper case + 1 number + 1 special character.
Overall, here are the main characteristics of a good, secure password: Is at least 12 characters long. The longer your password is - the better. Uses uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special symbols.
- Never use personal information such as your name, birthday, user name, or email address. ...
- Use a longer password. ...
- Don't use the same password for each account. ...
- Try to include numbers, symbols, and both uppercase and lowercase letters.
It's surprising how many people actually still use this password for their email, banking profiles and other secure online accounts. In fact, 12345 is among the top 5 worst and most used passwords in the world. If 12345 is your password, change it immediately.
The most common four-digit PINs, according to the study, are 1234, 0000, 2580 (the digits appear vertically below each other on the numeric keypad), 1111 and 5555.
- 123456.
- 123456789.
- qwerty.
- password.
- 12345.
- qwerty123.
- 1q2w3e.
- 12345678.
The smallest four-digit number, using two different digits is 1,000. (1,000 is the least four-digit number too). The greatest four-digit number, using only one digit is 9,999 (9,999 is the greatest four-digit number too).
There are 10,000 possible combinations that the digits 0-9 can be arranged into to form a four-digit code.
6-Digit PIN means your personal identification number for logging on to and authenticating transactions on the Mobile Banking App. 6-Digit PIN means the personal identification number adopted by the Customer for logging on to the Mobile Banking App.
What is the strongest 4 digit PIN?
“Statistically, 8068 is the safest PIN,” says Tyler Moffitt, senior threat research analyst at Webroot. “Other good numbers are 7637, 6835, and 9629. But that's mainly because they follow no pattern, isn't a date, or repetition of numbers, or the column of the keypad (2580).”
A four digit number (numbered from 0000 to 9999) is said to be lucky if the sum of first two digits is equal to the sum of its last two digits. If a four digit number is picked up at random, then the probability that it is lucky is. No worries!
You can crack more than 10 percent of random PINs by dialing in 1234. Expanding a bit, 1234, 0000, and 1111, make up about 20 percent. 26.83 percent of passwords can be cracked using the top 20 combinations.
- 123456.
- 123456789.
- Qwerty.
- Password.
- 12345.
- 12345678.
- 111111.
- 1234567.
According to NordPass' latest list of top 200 most common passwords in 2022, “password” is the most popular choice, followed by “123456”, “123456789”, “guest” and “qwerty“.
This then turns into: "Ja7WuthTfapow7fdAbhcA7cta!" That's a 26-character password that includes numbers, letters, uppercase, lowercase, and a one special character. All you have to do is recite the nursery rhyme when you're typing in your password!
Unfortunately, some attackers want to steal your data just to prove that they can. They are not motivated by monetary gain, access to free resources or the ability to steal your users' identities. They simply want to prove to themselves – and their hacker friends, perhaps – that they can break past your defenses.
- White Hat / Ethical Hackers.
- Black Hat Hackers.
- Gray Hat Hackers.
- Script Kiddies.
- Green Hat Hackers.
- Blue Hat Hackers.
- Red Hat Hackers.
- State/Nation Sponsored Hackers.
- qwerty.
- password.
- 12345.
- qwerty123.
- 1q2w3e.
- 12345678.
- 111111.
- 1234567890.
...
This is what they found.
Rank | PIN | Freq |
---|---|---|
#1 | 1234 | 10.713% |
#2 | 1111 | 6.016% |
#3 | 0000 | 1.881% |
#4 | 1212 | 1.197% |
What 5 things make a strong password?
- Minimum Password Length. ...
- Never Use Obvious Words or Numbers for Passwords. ...
- Use Symbols, Numbers and Capital Letters. ...
- A Password Creation Scheme. ...
- Use a Password Manager. ...
- Change Your Password Perspective.
Use a mix of alphabetical and numeric characters. Use a mixture of upper- and lowercase; passwords are case sensitive. Use a combination of letters and numbers, or a phrase like “many colors” using only the consonants, e.g., mnYc0l0rz or a misspelled phrase, e.g., 2HotPeetzas or ItzAGurl .
“Statistically, 8068 is the safest PIN,” says Tyler Moffitt, senior threat research analyst at Webroot. “Other good numbers are 7637, 6835, and 9629. But that's mainly because they follow no pattern, isn't a date, or repetition of numbers, or the column of the keypad (2580).”
Six-digit PINs of the following kinds: 123456, 654321, 111111, 000000, 123123, 666666, 121212, 112233, 789456, 159753.
the greatest four-digit number is 9999.
The most common four-digit PINs, according to the study, are 1234, 0000, 2580 (the digits appear vertically below each other on the numeric keypad), 1111 and 5555.
References
- https://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2012-09/infographic-day-fastest-way-crack-4-digit-pin-number/
- https://www.greengeeks.com/blog/top-10-worst-passwords-that-you-should-never-use/
- https://www.lidolearning.com/questions/m-bb-ncert6-ch3-ex3p5-q4/q4-write-the-greatest-4digit-n/
- https://cybernews.com/best-password-managers/password-cracking-techniques/
- https://byjus.com/question-answer/a-four-digit-number-numbered-from-0000-to-9999-is-said-to-be-lucky-if-9/
- https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/11/29/most-common-passwords-2022/
- https://www.usbank.com/financialiq/manage-your-household/protect-your-assets/8-tips-and-tricks-for-creating-and-remembering-your-PIN.html
- https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/passwords-safety-cybercrime/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_most_common_passwords
- https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/internetsafety/creating-strong-passwords/1/
- https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/answer/Minimum-password-length-best-practices-Are-14-character-passwords-necessary
- https://www.missioncriticalmagazine.com/articles/94349-nordpass-releases-the-200-most-common-passwords-of-2022
- https://cybernews.com/best-password-managers/how-to-create-a-strong-password/
- https://locker.io/blog/worst-passwords
- https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-tips-for-creating-an-unbreakable-password-that-you-can-remember/
- https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/200-most-used-passwords/
- https://www.digitalcitizenship.nsw.edu.au/articles/what-makes-a-good-password
- https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterprisedesktop/definition/strong-password
- https://www.nbcnews.com/technolog/whats-safest-4-digit-pin-not-8068-anymore-1b5966082
- https://www.zdnet.com/article/these-are-the-top-passwords-hackers-use-against-remote-access-time-to-change-yours/
- https://parade.com/living/most-common-passwords
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/684136
- https://www.dinopass.com/
- https://www.gvec.net/five-tips-for-creating-a-strong-password/
- https://www.cloudwards.net/how-to-set-up-a-strong-password/
- https://www.theamegroup.com/how-do-i-create-a-strong-pin/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/most-common-passwords-of-2022-make-sure-yours-isnt-on-the-list.html
- https://www.netsec.news/why-an-8-character-password-is-no-longer-long-enough/
- https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/create-and-use-strong-passwords-c5cebb49-8c53-4f5e-2bc4-fe357ca048eb
- https://www.rd.com/article/the-worlds-safest-best-pin/
- https://pittsburghskiclub.org/content/password_strength.php
- https://cybernews.com/best-password-managers/most-common-passwords/
- https://www.techs.co.nz/how-to-make-a-strong-password/
- https://www.jigsawacademy.com/blogs/cyber-security/different-types-of-hackers/
- https://www.bu.edu/tech/support/information-security/security-for-everyone/how-to-choose-a-strong-password/
- https://www.finra.org/investors/insights/7-tips-creating-better-password
- https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/6-digit-pin
- https://blog.passwork.pro/pin-security/
- https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/how-to-create-a-strong-password
- https://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-exchange/cracking-pin-code-easy-1-2-3-4-130143629.html
- https://www.precisely.com/blog/data-security/what-hackers-want-data
- https://www.cuemath.com/numbers/numbers-up-to-4-digits/