外刊阅读：The very worst and weakest passwords of 2023

The very worst and weakest passwords of 2023

By Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report Fox News

Published December 24, 2023 10:00am EST

Passwords are our first line of defense against cyberattacks that can expose our personal and financial information to crooks, hackers, thieves, snoops, catfish creeps and criminals.

If you choose weak or predictable passwords, you're just asking for trouble and risk losing your privacy and security to these bad people who can cause you serious damage.

What are some passwords I should avoid?

NordPass is out with its annual list of the 200 most common passwords, and as you might have guessed, there are some repeat offenders on the list. Some of the highest ranking, yet weakest password words and numbers include:

• 123456
• admin
• 12345678
• 123456789
• 1234
• 12345
• password
• 123
• Aa123456
• 1234567890
• 111111
• P@ssw0rd
• abc123
• Password1
• test
• guest
• Welcome@123

These passwords are very easy to guess and can be hacked by cybercriminals in a matter of seconds. If you're using the passwords above, it's time to change them ASAP.

How do I come up with a good password?

There are some basic rules to creating a good password that will be difficult for hackers to crack into. Following these guidelines might help you narrow down what you should and should not use.

Make sure your password has a minimum of 12 characters

The longer the password and the more characters that a hacker has to try, the better. Some sites will require you to make your password a certain amount of characters anyway, but having at least 12-14 characters or more is usually a safe bet.

Include numbers, symbols, capital and lowercase letters

Again, the more variety you have, the better. Be sure to include numbers and symbols and capital and lowercase letters. Make everything as random as possible to keep the hackers out. For example, a password like 'd%A$r(T496' would be much more difficult to crack than 'dart496.'

Avoid dictionary words

Any word on its own is not good to use for a password. It's too easy for a hacker to take one lucky guess from a common dictionary, like "cat" or "apple." Even a combination of dictionary words like "blue car" is too simple of a password.

Don't use substitutions

Replacing letters with common symbols can also lead to bad news. For example, if you want to use the word "smart" but instead write it as "$mart," it's too obvious because the $ symbol and the letter S look too similar.

Try to use a passkey instead of a password

Whenever possible, opt for passkeys instead of passwords. Passkeys are unique codes tethered to your device, which makes them a lot more secure and less susceptible to breaches. More companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are adopting passkey support as a safer alternative.

How can I keep my passwords safe?

Aside from the simpler password guidelines listed above, two other ways to keep your passwords safe are by using different passwords for different accounts and by avoiding writing down your passwords anywhere.

However, keeping track of all those letter and number combinations can be pretty difficult, especially considering that most tasks are completed online and we're required to have many accounts.

The very worst and weakest passwords of 2023

2023年最糟糕、最弱的密码

Passwords are our first line of defense against cyberattacks that can expose our personal and financial information to crooks, hackers, thieves, snoops, catfish creeps and criminals.

密码是我们防范网络攻击的第一道防线，可以防止个人和财务信息被骗子、黑客、小偷、窥探者、网络骗子和犯罪分子泄露。

If you choose weak or predictable passwords, you're just asking for trouble and risk losing your privacy and security to these bad people who can cause you serious damage.

如果你选择一个很弱很容易预测的密码，那么你就是自找麻烦，冒着将你的隐私和安全泄露给这些坏家伙的风险，他们能给你造成严重的伤害。

What are some passwords I should avoid?

我需要避免使用哪些密码？

NordPass is out with its annual list of the 200 most common passwords, and as you might have guessed, there are some repeat offenders on the list. Some of the highest ranking, yet weakest password words and numbers include:

NordPass公布了年度200个最常见的密码，你可能以及猜到了，其中一些已经多次上榜。排名最高最弱的几个密码包括：

• 123456
• admin
• 12345678
• 123456789
• 1234
• 12345
• password
• 123
• Aa123456
• 1234567890
• 111111
• P@ssw0rd
• abc123
• Password1
• test
• guest
• Welcome@123

These passwords are very easy to guess and can be hacked by cybercriminals in a matter of seconds. If you're using the passwords above, it's time to change them ASAP.

这些密码很容易被猜到，网络犯罪份子几秒钟就可以入侵。如果你正在使用这些密码，尽快修改它们。

How do I come up with a good password?

如何才能想出一个好的密码？

There are some basic rules to creating a good password that will be difficult for hackers to crack into. Following these guidelines might help you narrow down what you should and should not use.

要想创建一个黑客很难破解的好密码需要遵守几个基本准则。下面这些指南可以帮助你了解哪些应该用，哪些不应该用。

Make sure your password has a minimum of 12 characters

确保你的密码最少12位字符

The longer the password and the more characters that a hacker has to try, the better. Some sites will require you to make your password a certain amount of characters anyway, but having at least 12-14 characters or more is usually a safe bet.

密码越长，黑客需要尝试的字符越多，密码就越好。有些网站会对你的密码字符数有要求，不过通常最少12到14位或者更多位的密码是安全的保证。

Include numbers, symbols, capital and lowercase letters

包含数字、符号和大小写字母

Again, the more variety you have, the better. Be sure to include numbers and symbols and capital and lowercase letters. Make everything as random as possible to keep the hackers out. For example, a password like 'd%A$r(T496' would be much more difficult to crack than 'dart496.'

同样，密码越多样化越好。确保你的密码包含数字、符号和大小写字母，尽量随机化来防止入侵。例如破解'd%A$r(T496'这样的密码要比'dart496'困难的多。

Avoid dictionary words

避免字典中的单词

Any word on its own is not good to use for a password. It's too easy for a hacker to take one lucky guess from a common dictionary, like "cat" or "apple." Even a combination of dictionary words like "blue car" is too simple of a password.

任何单词本身都不适合用作密码。对于黑客来说，从“cat”或“apple”等常见单词来猜测太容易了，即使是“blue car”这样单词的组合也太简单。

Don't use substitutions

不要使用替代

Replacing letters with common symbols can also lead to bad news. For example, if you want to use the word "smart" but instead write it as "$mart," it's too obvious because the $ symbol and the letter S look too similar.

用常用的符号来替代字母也不是个好的选择。例如，你想使用单词‘smart’，然后你写成"$mart"，这也很明显，因为符号$和字母S看起来太像了。

Try to use a passkey instead of a password

尝试使用密钥而不是密码

Whenever possible, opt for passkeys instead of passwords. Passkeys are unique codes tethered to your device, which makes them a lot more secure and less susceptible to breaches. More companies like Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are adopting passkey support as a safer alternative.

尽可能选择密匙而不是密码。密钥是与你的设备绑捆的独一无二的代码，它们更加安全，不易被入侵。越来越多的公司像苹果、谷歌、亚马逊以及微软都开始采用密匙来作为更安全的选项。

How can I keep my passwords safe?

如何保障我的密码的安全？

Aside from the simpler password guidelines listed above, two other ways to keep your passwords safe are by using different passwords for different accounts and by avoiding writing down your passwords anywhere.

除了上面列出的简单的密码准则外，还有两种保障密码安全的方法：不同的帐户使用不同的密码，以及避免到处写下自己的密码。

However, keeping track of all those letter and number combinations can be pretty difficult, especially considering that most tasks are completed online and we're required to have many accounts.

不过，要记住所有这些字母和数字组合可能非常困难，特别是大多数都是在线完成的，而且我们有很多的帐户。