It's something that we're all regularly warned about, but it seems that many people are still using passwords that are very easy to guess. 

New research has revealed that phrases including

It's something that we're all regularly warned about, but it seems that many people are still using passwords that are very easy to guess. 

New research has revealed that phrases including '123456', 'qwerty' and 'password' are still among the most popular passwords used around the world. 

NordPass has released its annual Most Common Passwords report, finding passwords vary greatly in different locations and between different genders.

Amazingly, the report shows that many users are still using the own names as their passwords, while sports teams, car brands and band names are also wildly popular.  

Speaking to MailOnline, Jake Moore, a cyber security expert from ESET, explained this research shows that people still aren't understanding the risks involved in using a weak password.

He recommends people use a password manager that can set different passwords for each site they visit without them having to remember the details. 

People are still using the same easy to crack passwords, according to a new study, with the most popular '123456', 'qwerty' and 'password' among the most popular

People are still using the same easy to crack passwords, according to a new study, with the most popular '123456', 'qwerty' and 'password' among the most popular

TOP TEN MOST USED PASSWORDS IN 2021

TABLE TITLE
RankPasswordTime to crack Users
1123456< 1 sec103170552
2123456789< 1 sec46027530
312345< 1 sec32955431
4qwerty< 1 sec22317280
5password< 1 sec20958297
612345678< 1 sec14745771
7111111< 1 sec13354149
8123123< 1 sec10244398
91234567890< 1 sec9646621
101234567< 1 sec9396813
SOURCE: NordPass 
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In the report, NordPass sifted through a whopping 4TB of data, compiled in partnership with independent researchers.  

This revealed that 123456 is the most common password globally, and is used by an estimated 103,170,552 users. 

123456789 and 12345 are the second and third most popular, with 46,027,530 and 32,955,431 respectively. 

Other popular passwords in the top 10 list included qwerty, password and 111111. 

References to drinks, football clubs and other cultural icons of an area were also commonly used as passwords. 

'Colocolo' is commonly used in Chile, 'nacional' in Brazil, 'sparta' in the Czech Republic, 'marseille' in France, and  'schalke04' in Germany.

While not necessarily easy to crack, they could be easy for someone to guess if they know the person lives in or around that football club.

Famous local beverage names, such as 'guinness' in Ireland, and religious passwords like 'christ' in Nigeria, 'bismillah' in Saudi Arabia, are also commonly used and easily guessed.

The findings show that, for a hacker, knowing someones location and gender can aid in cracking a password, as there are common traits.

For example, they found that overall, women used more positive and loving words, such as 'sunshine' or 'iloveyou'.  

Meanwhile, men tend to use more sports, especially football-related passwords. In some countries, men also used more swear words than women. 

Common entertainment terms, including pokemon, superman, blink182, starwars and batman also feature in the list, as do foods like chocolate, cookie and pepper. 

NordPass CEO Jonas Karklys, said passwords keep getting weaker and people don't maintain proper 'password hygiene'.

Researchers also devised a risk index, which sorts countries into three risk tiers: low, average, and high. The index has been devised according to the number of passwords leaked per capita, with Russia, the US and Australia among the worst for password leaks

Researchers also devised a risk index, which sorts countries into three risk tiers: low, average, and high. The index has been devised according to the number of passwords leaked per capita, with Russia, the US and Australia among the worst for password leaks

'It's important to understand that passwords are the gateway to our digital lives, and with us spending more and more time online, it's becoming enormously important to take better care of our cybersecurity,' he said.  

In India and Japan, the top password was the word 'password', while in Indonesia, Portugal, Spain and Thailand it was '12345'. 

Brits used '123456' most commonly, although football teams also played a major role - with two versions of 'liverpool' and 'arsenal' in the UK top ten.

There were many similarities among countries, NordPass discovered, with easy number combinations, such as the winning '123456', popular worldwide

There were many similarities among countries, NordPass discovered, with easy number combinations, such as the winning '123456', popular worldwide

TEN MOST COMMON PASSWORDS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 

TABLE TITLE
RankPasswordTime to crackUsers
1123456< 1 sec571107
2password< 1 sec423192
3liverpool< 1 sec224160
4password1< 1 sec162086
5123456789< 1 sec152801
612345< 1 sec151914
7qwerty< 1 sec145626
8liverpool12 Seconds123328
9charlie< 1 sec109524
10arsenal< 1 sec107899
SOURCE: NordPass 
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'Qwerty', or the localised versions, such as 'azerty' in French-speaking countries, or  'qwertz' in German, were also popular in all the analysed countries. 

The most commonly used number combinations start with '123456' and go up to 8 or 9, and sometimes add a zero on the end. 

Other common passwords are repetitions of the same number, such as 111111 or 00000000, NordPass discovered. 

Random letters were one of the most common categories of 'common passwords,' they found, with abc123 and qqww1122 topping the list, followed by 123456a and a123456. 

Researchers also devised a risk index, which sorts countries into three risk tiers: low, average, and high. 

The index has been devised according to the number of passwords leaked per capita, with Russia, the US and Australia among the worst for password leaks.

The UK was among the top with 2.78 leaks per capita, whereas Russia had 19.9 leaks per capita and China at 0.191.

Jake Moore, cyber security expert from ESET, said the use of such simple passwords suggests people are not understanding the risk involved.

'By not using unique passwords it weakens your account and it could very easily be compromised,' he explained. 

'Hacking software is very easily accessible on the internet and even free software will be able to bypass any of these most used passwords in seconds. 

Women were more likely to use 'friendly' words and phrases like 'iloveyou' than men, and certain spots came out top in some areas over others, such as Hockey in Canada

Women were more likely to use 'friendly' words and phrases like 'iloveyou' than men, and certain spots came out top in some areas over others, such as Hockey in Canada

'It is therefore vital that people ensure that their online accounts are secured by a long complex password doubled up with the use of two-factor authentication (2FA).

'Furthermore, using a password manager means you don't have to remember the ridiculous amount of passwords we all now possess too. 

'You no longer have to use the same password everywhere, or use memorable facts such as your dog's name, or your kid's birthday. 

'Since the password manager takes care of the remembering part, every password can be a long and totally random string of characters.'

Modern web browsers come with a simple password manager built in, and Google Chrome will alert you if you enter a password that appears on a 'hacked' list. 

TOP 200 MOST COMMONLY USED PASSWORDS GLOBALLY 
RankPasswordCountTime to crack
1123456103170552< 1 sec
212345678946027530< 1 sec
31234532955431< 1 sec
4qwerty22317280< 1 sec
5password20958297< 1 sec
61234567814745771< 1 sec
711111113354149< 1 sec
812312310244398< 1 sec
912345678909646621< 1 sec
1012345679396813< 1 sec
11qwerty1238933334< 1 sec
120000008377094< 1 sec
131q2w3e8204700< 1 sec
14aa1234567880988052 Seconds
15abc1237184645< 1 sec
16password15771586< 1 sec
1712345544971< 1 sec
18qwertyuiop5197596< 1 sec
191233215168171< 1 sec
20password1234681010< 1 sec
211q2w3e4r5t4624323< 1 sec
22iloveyou4387925< 1 sec
236543214384762< 1 sec
246666664329996< 1 sec
259876543214239959< 1 sec
261233606937< 1 sec
27123456a3493177< 1 sec
28qwe1233284938< 1 sec
291q2w3e4r3197899< 1 sec
3077777773112046< 1 sec
311qaz2wsx3066557< 1 sec
32123qwe2986924< 1 sec
33zxcvbnm2943584< 1 sec
341212122894633< 1 sec
35asdasd2848106< 1 sec
36a1234562828147< 1 sec
375555552723335< 1 sec
38dragon2684735< 1 sec
391122332654993< 1 sec
401231231232580565< 1 sec
41monkey2507887< 1 sec
42111111112471959< 1 sec
43qazwsx2354184< 1 sec
441597532114829< 1 sec
45asdfghjkl2043474< 1 sec
462222222020304< 1 sec
471234qwer1900252< 1 sec
48qwerty11878452< 1 sec
491236541842096< 1 sec
50123abc1829973< 1 sec
51asdfgh1750012< 1 sec
527777771746733< 1 sec
53aaaaaa1713813< 1 sec
54myspace116190273 Hours
55888888881593738< 1 sec
56fuckyou1562037< 1 sec
57123456789a1531193< 1 sec
589999991521326< 1 sec
598888881498311< 1 sec
60football1468381< 1 sec
61princess1456356< 1 sec
627894561231430434< 1 sec
631472583691421709< 1 sec
6411111111413748< 1 sec
65sunshine1402897< 1 sec
66michael13373308 Seconds
67computer1328046< 1 sec
68qwer12341322032< 1 sec
69daniel12895285 Seconds
707894561279878< 1 sec
71111111278208< 1 sec
72abcd12341276859< 1 sec
73q1w2e3r41259573< 1 sec
74shadow1258333< 1 sec
751593571253767< 1 sec
76123456q1246191< 1 sec
7711111243637< 1 sec
78samsung1226160< 1 sec
79killer1216754< 1 sec
80asd1231203927< 1 sec
81superman1190436< 1 sec
82master1178973< 1 sec
8312345a1175912< 1 sec
84azerty1175329< 1 sec
85zxcvbn1163035< 1 sec
86qazwsxedc1162866< 1 sec
871313131155266< 1 sec
88ashley11537402 Minutes
89target12311537249 Seconds
909876541138159< 1 sec
91baseball1110954< 1 sec
92qwert1102898< 1 sec
93asdasd12311024414 Seconds
94qwerty1096678< 1 sec
95soccer1075807< 1 sec
96charlie1056149< 1 sec
97qweasdzxc1050686< 1 sec
98tinkle10454842 Minutes
99jessica10426257 Seconds
100q1w2e3r4t51039335< 1 sec
101asdf1037388< 1 sec
102test11026650< 1 sec
1031g2w3e4r10258363 Hours
104gwerty12310172973 Hours
105zag12wsx10157431 Hour
106gwerty10128675 Seconds
1071472581004764< 1 sec
10812341234999367< 1 sec
109qweqwe990196< 1 sec
110jordan985400< 1 sec
111pokemon980773< 1 sec
112q1w2e3r4t5y6977517< 1 sec
11312345678910973747< 1 sec
1141111111111971288< 1 sec
11512344321969735< 1 sec
116thomas9671168 Seconds
117love956372< 1 sec
11812qwaszx945934< 1 sec
119102030943475< 1 sec
120welcome935843< 1 sec
121liverpool934857< 1 sec
122iloveyou19259581 Second
123michelle9232293 Hours
124101010920371< 1 sec
12512345619113041 Second
126hello909460< 1 sec
127andrew8891672 Minutes
128a123456789873086< 1 sec
129a12345868694< 1 sec
130Status8592462 Seconds
131fuckyou1853953< 1 sec
1321qaz2wsx3edc853042< 1 sec
133hunter847191< 1 sec
134princess18425161 Second
135naruto841541< 1 sec
136justin8414492 Minutes
137jennifer8313662 Hours
138qwerty12829797< 1 sec
139qweasd822554< 1 sec
140anthony81891417 Minutes
141andrea8158242 Minutes
142joshua8131942 Minutes
143asdf1234809461< 1 sec
14412345qwert807768< 1 sec
1451qazxsw2800348< 1 sec
146marina795950< 1 sec
147love123785192< 1 sec
148111222781491< 1 sec
149robert781270< 1 sec
15010203780148< 1 sec
151nicole7799142 Minutes
152letmein778948< 1 sec
153football1775804< 1 sec
154secret764028< 1 sec
1551234554321763140< 1 sec
156freedom761731< 1 sec
157michael1757345< 1 sec
15811223344753481< 1 sec
159qqqqqq751737< 1 sec
160123654789739687< 1 sec
161chocolate7235363 Seconds
16212345q713360< 1 sec
163internet711369< 1 sec
164q1w2e3708307< 1 sec
165google703996< 1 sec
166starwars701474< 1 sec
167mynoob6992552 Minutes
168qwertyui695854< 1 sec
16955555693960< 1 sec
170qwertyu691679< 1 sec
171lol123691525< 1 sec
172lovely683731< 1 sec
173monkey1683663< 1 sec
174nikita682625< 1 sec
175pakistan677307< 1 sec
17677585216723234 Minutes
17787654321671618< 1 sec
178147852670937< 1 sec
179jordan23667218< 1 sec
180212121665287< 1 sec
181123789663559< 1 sec
182147852369661824< 1 sec
183123456789q656145< 1 sec
184qwe649603< 1 sec
185forever648777< 1 sec
186741852963640815< 1 sec
187123qweasd638513< 1 sec
188123456abc6368202 Seconds
1891q2w3e4r5t6y628567< 1 sec
190qazxsw627975< 1 sec
191456789622869< 1 sec
192232323616669< 1 sec
193999999999605131< 1 sec
194qwerty12345596747< 1 sec
195qwaszx592242< 1 sec
1961234567891591221< 1 sec
197456123589201< 1 sec
198444444586266< 1 sec
199qq1234565582402 Seconds
200xxx290395< 1 sec
SOURCE: NordPass 

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