Checking PIN passwords from databases that were released by
hackers in the past, Nick Berry found that the 20 most popular
ones compose more than 25 percent of all passwords in existence.
By far, the most popular password is 1234. “It’s staggering how
popular this password appears to be. Utterly staggering at the
lack of imagination,” Berry writes. “Nearly 11 percent of the
3.4 million passwords are 1234!” The next most popular
combination is 1111, clocking in at about 6 percent. Passwords
made of repeating numbers like this are overwhelmingly popular.
And in a real move of maturity, 6969 charts at number 10 on the
list. The least commonly used password? 8068, clocking in with a
frequency of 0.000744 percent. Of course, just because this is
currently the least used PIN, it doesn’t mean it’s a smart idea
to rush out and change your numbers to that combination. In
fact, that bit of knowledge comes with a warning from Berry.
“Now that we’ve learned that, historically, 8068 is (was?) the
least commonly used passw