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Cybersecurity

And the password is... obvious

Symantec survey finds some people are still sloppy about their passwords

By Kevin McCaney
Apr 02, 2010

Symantec recently surveyed computer users on their use of passwords, how they choose them and how often they update them. The results revealed that a good number of people are still pretty sloppy about passwords, such as the 3 percent who admitted to using “password,” the 5 percent who use their middle name and the 10 percent who use their pets' names — which could come back to bite anyone who also has a social networking page. Here's a sample of the results:

Numerator

Click here for a larger image. For the full report, go to: www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/password-survey-results

Source: Symantec

About the Author

Kevin McCaney is a former editor of Defense Systems and GCN.

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Reader Comments

Thu, Apr 8, 2010 Robin White Central Texas

I keep a small notebook, which I call my codebook, with password entries for all those accounts. Needless to say, it is kept securely, but it is the only way I can keep a large collection of appropriately cryptic passwords and user-ids.

Mon, Apr 5, 2010 Passwd.me

There is an easy way to generate nice passwords: https://passwd.me/ Or even use bookmarklet to fill required passwords on web forms with 1 click: https://passwd.me/nifties/