Worst passwords of 2015 unveiled by SplashData

If your password is on this list, you better change it ASAP. The 25 worst passwords of 2015 have been released by Los Gatos, Calif.-based SplashData.

123456 is tops again, but lots of new entries are longer or Star Wars themed

CBC News · Posted: Jan 19, 2016 10:03 AM EST | Last Updated: January 19, 2016

New and longer passwords appearing on the list suggest users and websites may be making more of an effort to make their passwords more secure, SplashData said. (Getty Images)

If your password is on this list, you better change it ASAP. The 25 worst passwords of 2015 have been released by Los Gatos, Calif.-based SplashData.

The company, which makes password management software, compiles the annual list from the most common passwords leaked online each year — more than two million in 2015.

Fake answers make online security questions less secure

Think 1qaz2wsx is a strong password? Think again. It's based on the first two columns of keys on a standard keyboard, and it made No. 15 on this year's list.

It was among several new and longer passwords on the list for the first time, along with qwertyuiop and 1234567890. They suggest users and websites may be making more of an effort to make their passwords more secure, SplashData said.

"But they are each based on simple patterns that would be easily guessable by hackers," the company added in a news release, making their extra length "virtually worthless as a security measure."

Of course, not everyone is even making an effort.

The password 123456 and "password" itself remain the top two commonly used passwords, respectively – as they have every year since SplashData started compiling the annual list in 2011.

"Baseball" and "football" both made the top 10, as usual, but football (#7, up from #10) overtook baseball (#10, down from #8) in popularity.

Three new popular passwords on the list may be blamed, in part, on this year's release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens: starwars, solo and princess.

"As we see on the list, using common sports and pop culture terms is also a bad idea," SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said in a statement.

Three other new appearances were welcome, login and passw0rd.