Honestly, it’s a bit embarrassing. We’ve got quantum-resistant encryption and biometric sensors that can map the veins in your palm, yet millions of people are still out here using "123456" to protect their entire digital lives. It’s wild. Every year, cybersecurity firms like NordPass and SplashData release a list of most common passwords, and every year, the results are basically a carbon copy of the previous decade. You’d think we would have learned by now. We haven't.
Security researchers have spent years screaming into the void about entropy and character complexity. But the average human brain isn't built to remember "p@$$w0rd_2024!" for fifteen different apps. So, we default to the path of least resistance. We choose convenience over security, every single time. It’s why "password" is still a kingpin of the charts.
The Hall of Shame: What the Data Actually Shows
The numbers are pretty grim. When you look at the list of most common passwords pulled from recent data breaches, "123456" almost always takes the top spot. In fact, in the 2024 and 2025 reports, this specific string of numbers appeared in tens of millions of leaked records. It takes a brute-force attack less than a second to crack it. Literally, a blink of an eye.
Then you have the variations. "123456789" is the runner-up. Apparently, adding those extra three digits makes people feel like they’ve built Fort Knox. It hasn't. Then comes "guest," "qwerty," and the ever-classic "111111." These aren't just guesses; they are the first things any automated script tries when it hits a login page.
It's not just random numbers, though. Pop culture plays a huge role in how we lock our "doors." During the peak of certain movie releases or sporting events, we see those names spike in the databases. "Starwars" or "Liverpool" or "Superman" frequently pop up. People use what they love. Unfortunately, hackers know what you love too.
Why the Top 20 Never Changes
You might wonder why, despite all the warnings, "password" stays in the top five.
Psychology is the culprit. When someone is prompted to create a password for a service they don't care about—say, a random forum for local gardening—they don't want to think. They want to get to the content. They provide the most basic string possible just to bypass the gate. The problem starts when that same person uses that same basic password for their primary email or, god forbid, their banking app. Credential stuffing is a thing. Hackers take a list of leaked emails and passwords from a weak site and try them on every other major platform. It works more often than you’d think.
The Regional Quirk of Terrible Passwords
It’s actually fascinating how geography influences our bad habits. In some countries, the list of most common passwords is dominated by local football clubs. In Brazil, you’ll see "flamengo" or "palmeiras" high up on the list. In Italy, "juventus" makes frequent appearances.
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Language matters too. In German-speaking countries, "passwort" is the go-to. In France, "doudou" (a pet name) is surprisingly common. We are predictable creatures. We use our names, our kids' names, and our birth years. If your password contains "1985" or "1992," you aren't being clever; you're providing a roadmap for a social engineering attack.
The Rise of "Admin" and Default Settings
A huge chunk of the most common passwords aren't even chosen by users. They are defaults. Think about your router. Think about that smart lightbulb you bought for ten bucks. Most of these ship with "admin," "1234," or "password" as the default.
Many people never change them. This creates a massive botnet vulnerability. The Mirai botnet, which famously took down large chunks of the internet years ago, thrived on this exact laziness. It just scanned for devices using the most common default passwords and moved in. We are still seeing the echoes of that today with IoT devices.
The Fallacy of Complexity Rules
We’ve all been there. You try to sign up for a site and it demands:
- At least 8 characters
- One uppercase letter
- One number
- One special symbol
So, what do you do? You write "Password1!" and call it a day.
This is what security experts call "predictable complexity." Because the rules are standardized, the way humans bypass them is also standardized. Hackers know that if a capital letter is required, it’s almost always the first character. If a symbol is required, it’s usually an exclamation point or an "at" symbol at the very end. Adding a "!" to the end of your dog's name doesn't make it a strong password. It just makes it a common one with a hat on.
The Real Cost of Being "Common"
When you use something from the list of most common passwords, you aren't just risking your Netflix account. You're risking your identity. Once a hacker gets into one low-level account, they look for personal info. They find your address, your phone number, or the last four digits of your credit card.
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They use that to call your phone provider. They perform a SIM swap. Suddenly, they have your 2FA codes. It’s a domino effect that starts with "123456" and ends with an emptied savings account. It’s not just a statistic; it’s a massive vulnerability in our global infrastructure.
The Problem with Patterns
Keyboard patterns are the "clever" person's trap. "Qwertyuiop" or "asdfghjkl" feel like they might be hard to guess because they aren't words. But they are geometric patterns on a standard keyboard layout. Brute force software is programmed to prioritize these patterns. If your fingers just move in a straight line across the keys, you are on the list.
Moving Beyond the List
So, how do we actually stop appearing on the list of most common passwords? The answer isn't "try harder to remember things." Humans are bad at that. The answer is to stop making passwords entirely.
We are moving toward a "passkey" world. This uses cryptography stored on your device (like your phone or a YubiKey) to log you in. No characters to remember, no "123456" to type. Until that becomes the universal standard, we have to use tools that do the heavy lifting for us.
Passphrases Over Passwords
If you must create a password yourself, the current gold standard is the passphrase. Instead of one word with weird symbols, use four or five random words. "Correct-Horse-Battery-Staple" is the famous example from the XKCD comic, and it holds up. It’s much harder for a computer to crack because the length increases the entropy exponentially, but it’s much easier for a human to visualize.
"Blue-Toaster-Running-Fast-Cloud" is infinitely better than "B!ueT0ast3r."
How to Check if You're a Statistic
You don't have to wonder if your data is out there. Websites like Have I Been Pwned allow you to check if your email address or even a specific password has been part of a known data breach. If you type in your "secret" password and the site tells you it has been seen 150,000 times, change it. Immediately.
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Most modern browsers like Chrome and Safari now have built-in "Password Monitors." They cross-reference your saved logins against the latest list of most common passwords and known leaks. If you get a notification saying your password is "compromised," don't ignore it. It’s not a glitch. It means your "123456" finally caught up with you.
Actionable Steps to Secure Your Digital Life
Don't wait for the next major breach to realize you're vulnerable. Take these specific steps right now to get off the common lists.
1. Audit your primary accounts. Start with your email, your primary bank, and your main social media. If any of them use a password you've used elsewhere, change it.
2. Use a dedicated Password Manager. Tools like Bitwarden, 1Password, or Dashlane are essential. They generate 20-character strings of gibberish that no human could ever guess. You only have to remember one "Master Password." Make that one a long passphrase.
3. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This is your safety net. Even if a hacker has your password because it was on the "most common" list, they still can't get in without the physical token or code from your phone. Avoid SMS-based 2FA if you can; use an app like Google Authenticator or a physical security key.
4. Ditch the "Updates." Stop changing your password every 90 days unless you think it’s been stolen. Old-school corporate policy used to mandate frequent changes, but NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) now says this is actually bad. It leads to people just changing "Password1" to "Password2," which does nothing for security.
5. Embrace Passkeys. If a site offers you the option to "Sign in with a Passkey," do it. It’s the single biggest leap in security we’ve had in decades. It effectively removes you from the password game entirely.
The list of most common passwords serves as a yearly reminder of our collective digital laziness. It’s a mirror held up to our habits, and the reflection isn't great. Security isn't about being unhackable—nothing is—it’s about being a harder target than the person next to you. If you aren't using "123456," you're already ahead of millions.