Most Common Passwords of 2015

Cyber attacks are becoming more common than ever before. Each person may be unique, but their personal data is not. This commodity is wheeled and dealed from the smallest comprise to the largest data breaches.

Despite the hacks not being someone’s fault (usually), the part you can control is your password and account security. Despite all the warning signs, many of us prefer the convenience of something easy to remember. The trade off is, of course, your passwords are far easier to guess.

Since 2011, SplashData has released its annual popular passwords of the year. SplashData looked at the more than 2 million leaked passwords and analyzed the most common and least secure of them.

Most Common Passwords of 2015 by SplashData

Here’s SplashData’s full list. To keep your passwords secure, you definitely shouldn’t use any of the phrases on SplashData’s list.

The numbers in parentheses denote the position change in the password list. New refers to a new position on the list, 0 refers to the same position (unchanged), positive numbers mean the entry has gone up, and finally, a negative number means the entry went down the list.

1. 123456 (0)
2. password (0)
3. 12345678 (1)
4. qwerty (1)
5. 12345 (-2)
6. 123456789 (0)
7. football (3)
8. 1234 (-1)
9. 1234567 (2)
10. baseball (-2)
11. welcome (New)
12. 1234567890 (New)
13. abc123 (1)
14. 111111 (1)
15. 1qaz2wsx (New)
16. dragon (-7)
17. master (2)
18. monkey (-6)
19. letmein (-6)
20. login (New)
21. princess (New)
22. qwertyuiop (New)
23. solo (New)
24. passw0rd (New)
25. starwars (New)

Comparison of the Most Common Passwords from 2011 to 2015 by SplashData

Since 2011, SplashData has published a list of the 25 most common passwords each year. The list is based on data examined from millions of passwords leaked in data breaches, mostly in North America and Western Europe, year over year.

Rank	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011
1	123456	123456	123456	password	password
2	password	password	password	123456	123456
3	12345678	12345	12345678	12345678	12345678
4	qwerty	12345678	qwerty	abc123	qwerty
5	12345	qwerty	abc123	qwerty	abc123
6	123456789	123456789	123456789	monkey	monkey
7	football	1234	111111	letmein	1234567
8	1234	baseball	1234567	dragon	letmein
9	1234567	dragon	iloveyou	111111	trustno1
10	baseball	football	adobe123	baseball	dragon
11	welcome	1234567	123123	iloveyou	baseball
12	1234567890	monkey	admin	trustno1	111111
13	abc123	letmein	1234567890	1234567	iloveyou
14	111111	abc123	letmein	sunshine	master
15	1qaz2wsx	111111	photoshop	master	sunshine
16	dragon	mustang	1234	123123	ashley
17	master	access	monkey	welcome	bailey
18	monkey	shadow	shadow	shadow	passw0rd
19	letmein	master	sunshine	ashley	shadow
20	login	michael	12345	football	123123
21	princess	superman	password1	jesus	654321
22	qwertyuiop	696969	princess	michael	superman
23	solo	123123	azerty	ninja	qazwsx
24	passw0rd	batman	trustno1	mustang	michael
25	starwars	trustno1	0	password1	Football
Rank	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011

Most Common Passwords of 2015 Observations

There you have it. There are 8 new entries to the last from last year, including “starwars.” The top 2 passwords of “123456” and “password” topped the list. Other single words like “monkey,” “dragon,” “solo,” and “princess” also placed in the top 25.

An interesting development shows “1qaz2wsx” and “qwertyuiop” which might look like more of a secure password until you see the keyboard pattern. The first password comes from the first two columns of the keyboard, and the latter comes from the top row of letters on the keyboard from left to right.

“We have seen an effort by many people to be more secure by adding characters to passwords, but if these longer passwords are based on simple patterns they will put you in just as much risk of having your identity stolen by hackers.”

Morgan Slain, SplashData CEO

SplashData recommends using eight digits or longer passwords with all character types – uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. They also recommend using a different username and password combination for different websites and using a password manager to not only protect your passwords but also help you generate secure passwords (that you will never remember – but that’s what a password manager is for).

SplashData hopes this annual list helps educate people on what’s commonly used so they can start thinking more deeply about their password strategy and start changing bad passwords. Unfortunately, after 5 years of consistent results, people aren’t responsive to that message.

Additional Sources:

• The 25 Most Popular Passwords of 2015: We’re All Such Idiots by Gizmodo
• The Most Popular Passwords of 2015 by Business Insider