Now may be the time to rethink your passwords.
Once again, "123456" and "password" were the worst passwords of 2015, according to stats from SplashData, a company that makes password management software. The company found that the two worst passwords are also the most-used passwords, and therefore easily cracked by malicious hackers.
Every January, SplashData releases its list of the worst passwords, based on analysis of over 2 million leaked passwords it has found. Since the company started compiling data in 2011, "123456" and "password" have consistently topped the list.
While standard passwords, including "qwerty," remain on SplashData's list, passwords inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens also emerged. No. 25 in the list of the worst passwords was actually "starwars," but the company also found references to "solo" and "princess."
"As we see on the list, using common sports and pop culture terms is also a bad idea," SplashData CEO Morgan Slain said in a statement.
Malicious hackers use a wide range of tools, including bots, to crack passwords. But more often than not, they start with simple codes, like "123456." As SplashData's report suggests, some hackers will hit pay dirt with those terms.
For that reason, companies urge people to use alphanumeric passwords with special characters. Users can also use password managers, which create random passwords for different accounts. In that case, they're only required to remember one password; account credentials are populated by the app.
Here is the full list of the worst passwords of 2015:
1.123456
2. password
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. 12345
6. 123456789
7. football
8. 1234
9. 1234567
10. baseball
11. welcome
12. 1234567890
13. abc123
14. 111111
15. 1qaz2wsx
16. dragon
17. master
18. monkey
19. letmein
20. login
21. princess
22. qwertyuiop
23. solo
24. passw0rd
25. starwars