DOGGY NAMES POO-POOED—GUEST BLOG--By Fox Van Allen, Techlicious--
Man’s best friend does a terrific job of protecting
your home. But when it comes to protecting your online accounts, your beloved
pet is literally the worst choice possible.
Recently, Google Apps conducted a
study of 2,000 people to learn more about their methods for choosing account
passwords. The research revealed a worrying fact: Most people choose passwords
based on readily available information. This means a surprising number of
accounts can be hacked using a few simple, educated guesses.
So, what are the most common
passwords? The top (bottom?) 10 list is as follows:
Pet names
A notable date, such as a wedding
anniversary
A family member’s birthday
Your child’s name
Another family member’s name
Your birthplace
A favorite holiday
Something related to your
favorite sports team
The name of a significant other
The word “Password”
Naturally, if you used any of
these ten to construct your own passwords, then you should probably take a
moment to come up with something far more secure. After all, information such
as birthdays, anniversaries and names can be easily researched using Facebook.
That’s why it’s generally recommended that you lie when setting account security
questions like “what is your mother’s maiden name?”
The study reveals a few other
terrible password habits: Nearly half of us (48%) share our passwords with
others, a basic security no-no. And 3% write their passwords down on a post-it
note stuck near their computer – the digital equivalent of leaving your front
door unlocked at night.
There’s no excuse for a lazy
password. Rather than choosing an easy-to-remember piece of personal
information, you can use more secure password management software instead. You
should also read up on Suzanne’s tips for creating a strong password.
This article was written by Fox Van Allen and originally appeared on
Techlicious.
Read more: http://www.techlicious.com/blog/the-10-worst-password-ideas-as-revealed-by-google/#ixzz2bUk7UxDk
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