16 PCWorld JANUARY 2022NEWS CONFIRMED: YOUR PASSWORDS STILL SUCK
they can still be cracked in seconds. Among
the top 200 most common passwords listed,
“myspace1,” “1g2w3e4r,” “gwerty123,” and
“michelle” were the hardest to crack, taking a
relative eternity of three hours.
The rest of the report yields some
interesting insights.
Russia is number one
with a bullet in terms of
password leaks, with
almost 20 passwords
illegally accessed per
resident. Most of the
Western world isn’t
much better off. The
U.S., Canada, and the
U.K. are still toward the
top of the chart, with
5.1, 3.6, and 2.8 leaks
per capita, respectively.
Nord says that swearwords are often used
as passwords,
though there aren’t
any naughty entries
in the top 200—
whether that’s
because they don’t
feature or they’ve
been edited out
wasn’t mentioned.
The easiest way
to protect your
online accounts is to
use a unique, complex password for each site
and service. And the easiest way to do that is
with a password manager. If you’re looking to
start using one or want to shop around, check
out PCWorld’s roundup of the best password
manager options (fave.co/3lRkfRz).NordPass’s annual report reveals the most commonly used passwords.LastPass is our favorite password manager.