Even since the internet has become widely available, people have been notoriously bad at creating good passwords. Since complicated passwords are so hard to remember, people tend to use common words, simple phrases and even family members’ names as their passwords, which exposes them to being hacked by criminals. Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has had his accounts hacked multiple times while being in office because his passwords were just that simple (yourefired and maga2020!), which just shows you how widespread this issue really is. In this article, we will tell you about the most common passwords used in 2020.
Table of Contents
FAQ about most common passwords
WHICH YEARS ARE MOST COMMONLY USED IN PASSWORDS?
After analyzing over 15 billion passwords, researchers have determined that 2010 was the most popular year to be used in passwords, while 1987 and 1991 were in second and third place respectively. This can have several meanings. For instance, people often use the year they were born in their passwords, the year when they created the password or years when other significant events have happened in a person’s life.
What names are most commonly used in passwords?
Of all the passwords analyzed, just under 1% of passwords had a first name in them. Naturally, first names that are quite common around the world became the winners in this category: Eva took first place, Alex came in second and Anna was third.
What sports and sports teams are most commonly used in passwords?
When researchers analyzed over 15 billion passwords and rated sports teams according to the frequency with which their name was used in passwords, it turned out that basketball was the most popular sport in passwords in 2020, followed by soccer.
As for sports teams, Phoenix Suns were the most popular choice in passwords, followed by Miami Heat and Cincinnati Reds. There were three soccer teams on the top 10 list: Liverpool at number 5, Chelsea at number 6 and Arsenal at number 8.
What curse words are most commonly used in passwords?
Believe it or not, a surprising number of passwords used by people around the world contained curse words. These passwords accounted for about 7% of all unique passwords. “Ass” took the first spot in password popularity, while “sex” and “f*ck” came in in second and third places respectively.
What city names are most commonly used in passwords?
It turns out many people love the city they live in or were born in so much they decide to use it as their password. According to researchers, “abu” (most likely representing Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, took the number one spot on the list of the most commonly used city names in passwords. Rome came in second, while Lima took the third spot. Interestingly, there were only two US cities on the list, Austin and San Antonio, both at the bottom of the list.
Conclusion
While good passwords and difficult to come up with and even harder to remember, the use of secure passwords is incredibly important no matter what you do or where you live. To ensure that your accounts stay secure, use a password manager to create and record strong passwords for you.
