All reports agree that the cyber crimes don’t stop growing. WhatsApp and Instagram account thefts alone number in the thousands. And while that indicates that hacking continues to increase; we also have to take into account what we do as users to avoid it, which in some cases is very little.

This can be seen from a recent report that gives an account of it the most used passwords in 2022. And what’s worse, these themselves, because it is evident, were the most vulnerable.

The report, conducted by digital password manager NordPass and published by security firm Eset, includes a list of some notable countries, including: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Spain and Mexico. It follows that, because it is in the same region and because of the language, something similar happens in Argentina.

Analyzes arises from a database containing passwords that have been exposed in security incidents. This information was gathered through the collaboration of independent investigators who specialize in accident investigation.

The table is sorted by number of times the same key was used, includes the number of times it was present in the database and the time it took to be cracked via a brute force attack. This time, unlike what happened, “123456” is no longer the most used, but another unusual one has taken its place: “password”.

The 20 most used passwords in 2022

• password
• 1 2 3 4 5 6
• 123456789
• guest
• QWERTY
• 12345678
• 111111
• 1 2 3 4 5
• col123456
• 123123
• 1234567
• 1 2 3 4
• 1234567890
• 000000
• 555555
• 666666
• 123321
• 654321
• 7777777
• 123

Those who use this type of password would clearly prefer not to use any. But they have to choose one because the system requires them.

Some tricks to manage passwords

But before affixing this type of key, it is advisable to use other less common ones, such as little obvious proper names or the name of cities or brands, followed by some numbers.

Another tip: put together a sentence and that the initials of that sentence are the password. For example: Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia 2-1. The password would be APCA2a1. And to remember the password, it is enough to remember the dark morning of November 22nd.

Other data. Use a password manager. This is the best as it allows you to use very hard to guess keys and you also avoid forgetting. RememBear is a manager that has a great advantage for those who start using this type of software: its interface is very simple.

There’s also LogMeOnce, which lets you include an unlimited number of passwords. It’s free, with ads. KeePassXC is free and cross-platform software. Like most, it allows you to auto-fill forms and export and import the database. LogMeOnce, an application that has gained ground between last year and the current one.

In the report they also revealed what are the most used passwords globally in relation to rock bands. The top five are led by u2 and followed by prince, pink, heart and queen.

“What this shows is a pattern people often follow when choosing a password so that it’s easy to remember. However, this makes them easy to predict. Especially in automated brute force attacks where cybercriminals use software to test multiple email address and password combinations in seconds,” says Camilo Gutiérrez Amaya, head of ESET Latin America research laboratory.

They also broadcast the 10 most chosen films. Leon, Coco, Joker, Matrix, Star Wars, Spiderman, Alien, Maverick, Psychic and Terminator.

“The results demonstrate that it is still essential to raise people’s awareness of the importance of creating long passwords that are difficult to predict and which are unique to each account or online service. Finally, we remind everyone of the importance of activating two-step authentication in all the services they use so that the security of their accounts does not depend only on the password”, concludes Amaya.

SL