UK Internet users have an average of 22 password protected accounts, according to a survey.
But many people put themselves at risk of theft by using the same login details for different accounts.
Three quarters of those asked used the same password for more than one account and nearly a third never changed them, the survey found.
Another large minority shared their password details with other people.
The Payments Council, which oversees UK payments policy, warned that this put people’s finances at risk.
The council said that people should avoid using the same password, or even a variation of it, more than once.
This would restrict the damage if the password on one account was compromised, it said.
Top tips for choosing an internet password:
- Vary different types of characters in your passwords; include numbers, letters and special characters when possible.
- Choose passwords of at least eight characters. Separate short words with spaces or underscores.
- Don’t use the same password and username combination for multiple websites. Use an online password manager to keep track of your different accounts.
Here are a list of the 25 ‘worst’ internet passwords according to GCHQ.
If you use ANY of these then you should seriously change them NOW:
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. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football