#The Independent - Media RSS Feed independentLondon Skip Links * Skip to navigation * Skip to primary content * Skip to secondary content * Skip to tertiary content * Skip to footer Robert Chesshyre: Davis will be found Innocent once and for all, I hope Media 10° London Hi 18°C / Lo 7°C Query: ____________________ (Submit) Go Popular Topics Headlines * TheIndyMedia Follow The Independent's media pages on Twitter | Navigation * News + UK o Home News o UK Politics o Crime o This Britain + World o Europe o Americas o Middle East o Asia o Africa o Australasia o World Politics o Novaya Gazeta (English) + Business o News o Comment o Analysis & Features o Sharewatch o SME o Market News o Market Epic o Market Heatmaps o Market Screener o Business directory o Headhunter Network o Business Energy + People o News o Profiles o Diary o People Wall o People Videos + Science + Media o Opinion o TV & Radio o Press o Online o Advertising + Education o News o Schools o School Tables o Further o Higher o Training & Courses + Video + Obituaries + Corrections + Weather + News Wall + myIndependent * Opinion + Leading Articles + Commentators o Yasmin Alibhai-Brown o Terence Blacker o Simon Carr o Rupert Cornwell o Sloane Crosley o Mary Dejevsky o Robert Fisk o Andrew Grice o Adrian Hamilton o Johann Hari o Philip Hensher o Howard Jacobson o Dominic Lawson o John Lichfield o Hamish McRae o Matthew Norman o Christina Patterson o John Rentoul o Steve Richards o Sarah Sands o Mary Ann Sieghart o Joan Smith o Mark Steel o Janet Street-Porter o Andreas Whittam Smith + Columnists o Cooper Brown o Julie Burchill o Richard Ingrams o Alex James o Dom Joly o Dylan Jones o David Lister o Thomas Sutcliffe o Brian Viner o John Walsh o Janet Street-Porter + Letters + myIndependent * Environment + Climate Change + Green Living + Nature o Nature Studies o UK butterflies + myIndependent * Sport + Video o Premier League o Aviva Premiership o ATP Tennis o ECB Cricket o Golf news o Motor Racing o Super League + Athletics + Cricket o Live Scores + Football o International o News & Comment o Premier League o Football League o European o Scottish o FA & League Cups o Transfers o Live Scores + Golf + Motor Racing + Olympics + Racing + Rugby League + Rugby Union o News & Comment o International o Club Rugby + Sailing + Tennis + Others * Life & Style + Fashion o News o Features + Food & Drink o News o Reviews o Features o Recipes + Health & Families o Health News o Features o Healthy Living o Health Advice + House & Home o Interiors o Gardening o Property + History + Gadgets & Tech o News o Gaming o Features + Motoring o Motoring News o Features o Road Tests o Motorcycling o Comment o Used Car Search o New Car Search + Dating o Member Profiles + Video o Annabel Karmel + Puzzles o Most Popular Games o Crosswords o Quizzes o Action Games o Sports Games o Shooting Games o Puzzles + Competitions * Arts & Ents + Video o Films o Theatre + Art o News o Features o Reviews o Great Works o Art Information Service + Architecture + Music o News o Features o Reviews o Music Magazine + Classical o News o Features o Reviews + Films o News o Features o Reviews + TV & Radio o News o Features o Reviews + Theatre & Dance o News o Features o Reviews + Comedy o News o Features o Reviews + Books o News o Features o Reviews + Puzzles o Most Popular Games o Crosswords o Quizzes o Action Games o Sports Games o Shooting Games o Puzzles + Arts & Ents Wall * Travel + News o Travel Wall + Simon Calder + 48 Hours In + Africa + Americas + Asia + Australasia & Pacific + Europe + Middle East + UK + Hotels + Skiing o Snow conditions + Video * Money + Spend & Save + Loans & Credit + Mortgages + Pensions + Insurance + Tax + Pensions & Investment Centre + Independent Compare + myIndependent * IndyBest + Fashion & Beauty + Gadgets & Tech + House & Garden + Food & Drink + Outdoor & Activity + Arts & Books + Travel + Green + myIndependent * Blogs * i * Student + News + Getting Into University o A-Z Degrees o A-Z Unis & Colleges o Clearing o Overseas + Student Life o Health o Accommodation o Finances o Music & Film o Fashion o Technology & Gaming + Postgraduate o Postgraduate Study o MBAs Guide o A-Z Business Schools o Business school search + Study Abroad o A-Z Universities o News + Career Planning o Apprenticeships o Vocational Study o Getting a Job o Graduate Jobs + Competitions & Offers + Ezines + myIndependent * Shop * from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday Home > News > Media Social networking site breach exposes most popularly used passwords Relax News Friday, 22 January 2010 * Share The Independent Close + Digg Digg + del.icio.us del.icio.us + Facebook Facebook + Reddit Reddit + Google Google + Stumble Upon Stumble Upon + Fark Fark + Newsvine Newsvine + z YahooBuzz + Bebo Bebo + Twitter Twitter * Print * Email hfuchs * Photos enlarge An analysis of more than 32 million exposed passwords revealed "123456" as the most commonly used security code when logging into online accounts. Social networking services and customized widget company, Rockyou.com, suffered a data breach in December 2009. The breach included millions of people's email addresses and passwords for Rockyou.com (and in many cases passwords and login details for associated social networking sites). The hacker responsible for the attack subsequently posted the full list of passwords on the internet. The compromised password and login data was examined by US-based security company, Imperva Application Defense Center (ADC). The ease and scale of this security breach should read as a warning to everyone logging onto web-based social networks, email accounts or online ecommerce sites - especially those who use the same passwords for multiple accounts. Pairing short, uncomplicated and easy-to-guess passwords with identical login credentials for multiple sites can put you at serious risk of identity theft and can easily result in your accounts being compromised by prying eyes. "Everyone needs to understand what the combination of poor passwords means in today's world of automated cyber attacks: with only minimal effort, a hacker can gain access to one new account every second-or 1000 accounts every 17 minutes," explained Imperva's CTO Amichai Shulman in a January 21 report announcement. "The data provides a unique glimpse into the way that users select passwords and an opportunity to evaluate the true strength of passwords as a security mechanism. Never before has there been such a high volume of real-world passwords to examine." Surprisingly, the analysis of the Rockyou.com data confirms that consumer password habits have changed very little over the past two decades. Almost 50 percent of users opt for passwords that are names and easily understood words or use trivial passwords such as consecutive digits and adjacent keyboard keys. A full analysis of the 32 million Rockyou.com passwords show the most commonly used passwords are: 1. 123456 2. 12345 3. 123456789 4. Password 5. iloveyou 6. princess 7. rockyou 8. 1234567 9. 12345678 10. abc123 To keep your accounts safe, NASA recommends adhering to the following steps when creating a password: 1. It should contain at least eight characters. 2. It should contain a mix of four different types of characters - upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters such as !@#$%^&*,;" If there is only one letter or special character, it should not be either the first or last character in the password. 3. It should not be a name, a slang word, or any word in the dictionary. It should not include any part of your name or your e-mail address. 4. Choose a strong password for sites where you care about the privacy of the information you store. Bruce Schneier's advice is useful: "take a sentence and turn it into a password. Something like "This little piggy went to market" might become "tlpWENT2m." That nine-character password won't be in anyone's dictionary." 5. Use a different password for all sites - even for the ones where privacy isn't an issue. To help remember the passwords, again, following Bruce Schneier's advice is recommended: "If you can't remember your passwords, write them down and put the paper in your wallet. But just write the sentence - or better yet - a hint that will help you remember your sentence." 6. Never trust a third party with your important passwords (webmail, banking, medical etc.) The information formed part of Imperva's Consumer Password Worst Practices report. * Print Print Article * Email Email Article Also in this section * Letter from the editor: Try to be interesting * 30,000 Twitter users could face legal action over gag breaches * Stephen Glover: Judges need to wake up to the 21st century * Wikipedia founder opens new front in privacy battle EDITOR'S CHOICE * When two tribes go to work * Kitsch summer fashion * Coogan Winners at the Baftas * By George! 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