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What's the most popular password?

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Friday October 22, 2004

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Dear Yahoo!:

What's the most popular password?

DaveSalem, Oregon

Dear Dave:

On average, the human brain can hold only five to nine "random bits of information" in short-term memory. Considering the brain's limited capacity and the sheer number of secret names, codes, and words a person needs to remember in this password-protected age, it's no surprise that the most common password is simply "password." Besides serving as an easy-to-remember code for less-creative computer users, "password" is often used as the default password for many web sites and programs, making it extremely common and not at all secure. In other words, "password" is a bad password. Other perennial favorites

include "God," "sex," "money," and "love." Passwords based on the names or birthdays of partners, children, or pets are also quite common. Here's a pretty lengthy list of common passwords. Make sure to scan it and look for yours. If yours made the list, it's probably a good idea to change it.

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