We live in a world where it is necessary for us to protect ourselves and one of the ways we do so is through the use of a password.

We use them in many different ways, from the four digits that give us access to money at an ATM machine to the long string of letters and symbols that we may use for logging into our bank account online.

Photo: Pexels/Soumil Kumar

Most people would readily admit that passwords need to be secure. They might even say that a mixture of letters, numbers, and symbols is the best choice. Although that is true, more people continue to use simple and easily stolen passwords every day.

This leads many to wonder how safe they are when they are online. When you look at the data, you might be surprised to learn that 85% of those who use passwords online use a variation of the same password, according to the ID Theft Resource Center.

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There is even a list of 20 passwords that are the most commonly used in the United States and if you use one of those passwords, your risk of being hacked is off the charts.

How much danger are you in when you use one of those top 20 passwords? According to NordPass, a popular password manager, you are likely to be hacked if you use one of those passwords in less than a second.

Independent researchers worked along with NordPass to come up with a list of the most common passwords in use today. Interestingly, the list has grown smaller over the years, showing that more people are using secure passwords online.

Photo: Pexels/Anna Tarazevich

On the downside, 73% of the most common passwords used in 2022 also were on the same list in 2021.

Have you ever used the password, “123456”? Last year, that password occupied the top slot on the list but it has fallen to the number two spot this year. In 2022, the number one password used in the United States was “guest.”

Here is the list of the most common 20 passwords used in the US in 2022.

1. guest
2. 123456
3. password
4. 12345
5. a1b2c3
6. 123456789
7. Password1
8. 1234
9. abc123
10. 12345678
11. qwerty
12. baseball
13. football
14. unknown
15. soccer
16. jordan23
17. iloveyou
18. monkey
19. shadow
20. g_czechout

If you want to keep yourself more secure online and protect your accounts, use the following tips to make your passwords more difficult to hack.

1. Know your passwords and assess them regularly to make sure they are strong.

2. Use a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Preferably, a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters should be used in the password.

3. Don’t use a password on more than one account. If they are able to hack one of your accounts, they would have easier access to the others.

4. Download a password manager that encrypts the passwords and allows you to share them securely. Storing them in a spreadsheet or another document with open access is a recipe for disaster.