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When Christmastime comes, it envelops our whole lives. It's hard to get away from Christmas parties, festive trees, lights, and other decorations, not to mention the jolly (and sometimes annoying) Christmas music. In December, the Christmas mood takes over our lives completely, so naturally, when people need to come up with passwords during this time, they lean towards the Christmas theme. That is bad news for several reasons — let's look into them.
Contents:
Most popular passwords
Annual research by NordPass showed that religious and Christmas-themed passwords are particularly popular among internet users. Here are the 12 most common ones:
blessing
christ
jesusislord
godisgood
praise
jesus
jesus1
miracle
jesuschrist
Blessed
Savior
jesuss
When it comes to passwords, people don't like to overwork themselves. They choose memorable words without any special symbols or numbers that would make them the tiniest bit complicated to type in. Unfortunately, convenience usually wins over privacy and security.
Christmas-related passwords are a security risk
The most common passwords are unsafe because of their popularity, but their simplicity is also a huge problem. If you choose a regular word as your password (Christmas-related or otherwise), it's much easier to crack with a simple dictionary attack. Powerful computers don't take too long when brute-forcing straightforward passwords like 'blessing', 'praise', or 'miracle.'
Only one of the top 12 passwords contains an additional number, and none of them have any special symbols or made-up words. Passwords like these are very easy prey for cybercriminals.
Check if your password is on the list of Top 200 Most Common Passwords
What does a strong password look like?
We analyzed the worst passwords — now let's see how a strong password should look so that you can start the new year right.
Make them long. The more characters a password has, the longer it will take to brute-force it.
Forget grammar. If you decide to use a word, spell it wrong. Use two, three, four words, or even a whole sentence as your password to make it even stronger.
Add a little bit of spice. Numbers and symbols are a great way to make your password bulletproof. Just make sure you don't use the most obvious and popular ones like 'passw0rd'.
Don't make it personal. Make sure your password is not your name, favorite color, food, or TV show. Never use anything you like and talk about often as your password!
NordPass to the rescue
Next year, promise to be better with your password habits. Need help? To maintain good password hygiene, follow these tips:
First, check the strength of your current passwords with our free online tool to make sure it's not as weak as 'blessing.'
Use a to update all your passwords that are too weak, overused, or old.
Activate 2FA where possible. Use an app, biometrics, or a security key to add an additional layer of protection to your accounts.
No one wants to remember multiple complicated passwords — few are able to. That's why NordPass is here to make your online life easier. Set it up to generate, store, and autofill your passwords for you.
Keep up with the news and change your passwords immediately if any of the services you use suffers from a data breach. Don't want to? No worries, NordPass will notify you automatically if any of your credentials are leaked!
Have you been naughty or nice with your passwords this year? Take our Christmas Quiz and find out.