Each year, the folks at SplashData compile various lists of hacked accounts to create a ranking of the worst passwords of the year.
For 2013, “password” fell out of the No. 1 spot, beaten by the oh-so-secure “123456” as the least secure option. For me, it certainly calls to mind this scene from the Mel Brooks classic, Spaceballs.
Other gems include “qwerty,” “abc123” and “iloveyou”. (A full list is to the right, though No. 12 should actually be “admin” not “sunshine,” which is on the list twice.)
Several Adobe-themed passwords made the ranking following that company’s well-publicized security breach last year.
“Seeing passwords like ‘adobe123’ and ‘photoshop’ on this list offers a good reminder not to base your password on the name of the website or application you are accessing,” SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said in a statement.
If like a certain unnamed colleague, you have trouble coming up with a good password, Microsoft has a few tips.