Special Report
The Most Used Passwords in the World and How Long They Take to Crack
Published:
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.
Click here to see the world’s most common passwords and how long they take to crack
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.
30. azerty
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using azerty as a password: 43,101
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29. 112233
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 112233 as a password: 43,615
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28. abc123
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using abc123 as a password: 44,587
27. Gizli
> Time to crack it: 10 seconds
> People using Gizli as a password: 44,874
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26. 121212
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 121212 as a password: 46,298
25. 987654321
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 987654321 as a password: 46,891
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24. 1111
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1111 as a password: 47,935
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23. 110110jp
> Time to crack it: 3 seconds
> People using 110110jp as a password: 48,265
22. 777777
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 777777 as a password: 48,903
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21. D1lakiss
> Time to crack it: 3 hours
> People using D1lakiss as a password: 50,181
20. 123
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123 as a password: 60,795
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19. 7777777
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 7777777 as a password: 74,233
18. 654321
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 654321 as a password: 81,231
17. 123321
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123321 as a password: 83,241
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16. 666666
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 666666 as a password: 91,274
15. 555555
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 555555 as a password: 98,353
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14. 0
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 0 as a password: 102,636
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13. 1234567890
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1234567890 as a password: 105,189
12. 1234
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1234 as a password: 106,929
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11. 1234567
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 1234567 as a password: 110,279
10. 123123
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123123 as a password: 127,762
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9. col123456
> Time to crack it: 11 seconds
> People using col123456 as a password: 140,505
8. 12345
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 12345 as a password: 188,602
7. 111111
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 111111 as a password: 229,047
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6. 12345678
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 12345678 as a password: 284,946
5. qwerty
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using qwerty as a password: 309,679
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4. guest
> Time to crack it: 10 seconds
> People using guest as a password: 376,417
3. 123456789
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123456789 as a password: 413,056
2. 123456
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using 123456 as a password: 1,523,537
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1. password
> Time to crack it: Less than 1 second
> People using password as a password: 4,929,113
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