

Again, the typical person doesn't have much of a protocol in place: Just 31.3% of internet users will create new passwords “once or twice a year,” according to the Digital Guardian, a data loss prevention software company.īut the longer a password is in use, the more likely it has been leaked in a massive data breach - such as Collection 1-5, the name of a breach which exposed 2.2 billion unique emails and passwords back in January 2019. There's also the matter of how often to change your password. This will help to keep your password from being guessed, and avoid giving away further information that can be used to compromise your online security elsewhere, if an account is hacked. Avoid sensitive and guessable informationĭon't use your own personal information in a password, like your name, birthday, or your pet's name, and try to avoid typical capitalizations, such as capitalizing the first letter. Using a passphrase can help you to achieve a secure length. But when it comes to uncrackable logins, you'll want at least 12. Nearly 30% of all passwords are eight characters, while almost 20% more are six characters long. Use long, secure passphrasesĪ strong password should have 12 or more characters and a mix of upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. Good news: you don’t have to remember them all. This is because hackers can find any online accounts tied to your email address, and will immediately try reusing any password across all your accounts. If you have 100 accounts, 100 passwords really is the safest move. The one truly safe solution is to have a different password for each and every account. What’s the number of passwords that the average person is still able to remember, but any risk of leaked information is mitigated? Bad news: there isn’t one. Have a different password for every account So what should you do? Here are our top tips. But you can't just use the same one everywhere.

Okay, so 100 passwords is too many to remember. It's much better to actually put some time into your password creation and think of something that's genuinely unique, memorable, and robust.
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The list put together by NordPass of the most common passwords of 2022 is shocking - if only because you might recognize some of your own on there! Examples, such as 123456, abc123, iloveyou, football, qwerty and guest, could all be cracked in seconds.

Think you're being smart by using a keyboard pattern instead of a word? You're not as genius as you may think. According to research, again by NordVPN, lots of us are using very obvious passwords, that are all too simple to crack. So, remember, create an original password for each service you use.Īnother pitfall to be aware of is that many people use similar passwords. However, the obvious danger here is that if one of your accounts is compromised, then they all are. It's all too easy to simply use the same password for multiple sites and services – after all, you're more likely to remember it, especially if you're managing the average 100 passwords. Respondents stated that they had downloaded more leisure and productivity apps since 2020, such as planners and calendars, as well as new work services, as necessitated by the move to working from home for many.Ī good password should, first and foremost, be an original one. One reason for this could be the global pandemic, which forced many people to use more services online, generating new accounts in the process. So, it’s hardly surprising that people use either very simple passwords or have a few and reuse them for all accounts” -Nord Security Expert “We now partly understand why people use easy-to-guess passwords - they simply have too many to remember. The coterie of researchers at NordPass confirms what we've long suspected, although the huge number of passwords the average person is expected to remember - 100 - may still shock some.Īccording to the research, the number actually increased 25% between 20, when compared with a similar poll which placed the average number of passwords at 70 to 80. Across retail websites, email, social media and other services, we're all too familiar with the sheer wealth of login details that we have to juggle. How Many Passwords Should the Average Person Remember?Īll of us have many passwords to manage on a daily basis. The best way to manage this centum of passwords is with a password manager - here, we explain how.

The study, commissioned by NordPass, found that the average number of passwords has actually increased in recent years, with the global pandemic potentially to blame, as more of us sought out new entertainment and services online. One study suggests the reason for this could be that we're each juggling a huge 100 passwords across various sites and services. All of us, at some point or other, have forgotten a password and needed a reminder.
