The 25 Worst Passwords of 2011

WalletPop Editor

Filed under: Consumer Complaints, Fraud, Small Business

By Sheryl Nance-Nash

You've got locks on your doors and maybe even an alarm system guarding your home. But all that stands between criminals and your bank account information is the word "password." Sound familiar? "Password," "123456" and, weirdly, "monkey" are among the 25 worst passwords of the year, according to SplashData, a private company that sells security services and password software.

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SplashData compiled its list -- released Monday -- from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online by hackers.

And despite all the fancy technology available to hackers, when it comes to breaking and entering, they'll still go for the low-hanging fruit, starting with easy passwords like these.

Here's a tip for creating a more secure password: Make it eight characters or more, and use multiple types of characters -- upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and symbols. (For more tips, read DailyFinance's article on how to create safe, memorable passwords.)

25 Worst Passwords of the Year

1. password

2. 123456

3. 12345678

4. qwerty

5. abc123

6. monkey

7. 1234567

8. letmein

9. trustno1

10. dragon

11. baseball

12. 111111

13. iloveyou

14. master

15. sunshine

16. ashley

17. bailey

18. passwOrd

19. shadow

20. 123123

21. 654321

22. superman

23. qazwsx

24. michael

25. football

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