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The Most Used Passwords in the World and How Long They Take to Crack

The Most Used Passwords in the World and How Long They Take to Crack

The internet has been around long enough that it’s difficult to comprehend why many people still use simple passwords to access their cybersecure online spaces. Is it because making easy-to-recall passwords is a hard habit to kick, or that certain online accounts aren’t worth protecting in the eyes of the netizens that use them?

Whatever the case may be, the latest list of the most common passwords used by people in 30 countries shows that millions of accounts can be cracked in less than a second by anyone with rudimentary knowledge of cybersecurity and the right software tools.

To compile a list of the most common passwords in the world in 2022 and how long they take to crack using dedicated software, 24/7 Tempo reviewed an updated study by NordPass, a proprietary password manager. NordPass worked with  independent researchers specializing in research of cybersecurity incidents in 30 countries. (These are the countries with the most leaked passwords.)

The majority of the most common passwords are combinations of numbers, from a simple “0” to “123456789.” What’s interesting about these numbers-only passwords is that cracking software takes less than a second to identify any numeric combination, so the number of numbers, or their order, makes no difference.

Using only lowercase letters doesn’t make much difference, either. The most common password is “password,” which is used for millions of online logins, and it can be identified as quickly as numbers-only combinations. The same applies for “qwerty,” the first six letters in the top row of a standard English keyboard, and “azerty,” presumably used by people who think “qwerty” is too simplistic. Curiously, the password “guest” takes longer for software to identify – 10 seconds. (Compare this list with the most common passwords in America and how long they take to crack.)

Adding an uppercase letter to a letters-only password is also fairly pointless. One of the most common passwords is “Gizli,” which Google says is Turkish for “hidden.” Like “guest,” it takes only about 10 seconds to crack an account using that password.

The most common password that takes the longest to crack is “D1lakiss” which required about three hours for software to root out. The fact it takes hours instead of seconds to identify this password offers a hint about why it’s recommended that you use a combination of numbers with lower-case and upper-case letters in your login information. 

Notably absent from this list is any password that includes symbols like hashtags and dashes. Cybersecurity experts will tell you the best passwords use a combination of symbols, letters (upper and lower case) and numbers. They may not be easy to remember, but they’re also not easy to crack.

Source: fullempty / iStock via Getty Images

30. azerty
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using azerty as a password: 43,101

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

29. 112233
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 112233 as a password: 43,615

Source: michaelmurillo / iStock via Getty Images

28. abc123
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using abc123 as a password: 44,587

Source: RayaHristova / iStock via Getty Images

27. Gizli
> Time to crack it: 10 seconds
> People using Gizli as a password: 44,874

Source: Zephyr18 / iStock via Getty Images

26. 121212
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 121212 as a password: 46,298

Source: D4Fish / E+ via Getty Images

25. 987654321
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 987654321 as a password: 46,891

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

24. 1111
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1111 as a password: 47,935

Source: anyaberkut / iStock via Getty Images

23. 110110jp
> Time to crack it: 3 seconds
> People using 110110jp as a password: 48,265

Source: Tero Vesalainen / iStock via Getty Images

22. 777777
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 777777 as a password: 48,903

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

21. D1lakiss
> Time to crack it: 3 hours
> People using D1lakiss as a password: 50,181

Source: zakokor / iStock via Getty Images

20. 123
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123 as a password: 60,795

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

19. 7777777
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 7777777 as a password: 74,233

Source: sankai / iStock via Getty Images

18. 654321
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 654321 as a password: 81,231

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

17. 123321
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123321 as a password: 83,241

Source: dusanpetkovic / iStock via Getty Images

16. 666666
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 666666 as a password: 91,274

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

15. 555555
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 555555 as a password: 98,353

Source: MicroStockHub / iStock via Getty Images

14. 0
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 0 as a password: 102,636

Source: dinachi / iStock via Getty Images

13. 1234567890
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1234567890 as a password: 105,189

Source: marchmeena29 / iStock via Getty Images

12. 1234
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1234 as a password: 106,929

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

11. 1234567
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1234567 as a password: 110,279

Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons

10. 123123
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123123 as a password: 127,762

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

9. col123456
> Time to crack it: 11 seconds
> People using col123456 as a password: 140,505

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

8. 12345
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 12345 as a password: 188,602

Source: eclipse_images / E+ via Getty Images

7. 111111
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 111111 as a password: 229,047

Source: Cuong Nguyen Minh / iStock via Getty Images

6. 12345678
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 12345678 as a password: 284,946

Source: Anthony SEJOURNE / iStock via Getty Images

5. qwerty
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using qwerty as a password: 309,679

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

4. guest
> Time to crack it: 10 seconds
> People using guest as a password: 376,417

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

3. 123456789
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123456789 as a password: 413,056

Source: 24/7 Wall Street

2. 123456
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123456 as a password: 1,523,537

Source: natasaadzic / iStock via Getty Images

1. password
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using password as a password: 4,929,113

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