Here are the 20 most common passwords in Switzerland

Many Swiss people lack creativity when choosing their passwords. Much to their chagrin: According to one study, the 20 most common passwords were cracked in less than a second.

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Online stores, social media, streaming services or your email inbox – every service you use on the internet requires an account and a password to protect it. Finally, important data such as address, phone number and especially payment information are stored in the account. It’s no wonder hackers are trying to get their hands on this sensitive data.

To deny any unauthorized access, you should choose the best password possible. According to the Federal Cyber ​​Security Office BACS, passwords should be at least 12 characters long and consist of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Additionally, it should not contain any familiar words or number sequences and should be as unique and personal as possible.

But a new study from password manager Nordpass shows that few people stick to these recommendations. For example, the most common password used by Swiss people is “123456”. The rest of the passwords in the top 20 are not particularly creative either: in addition to other simple number sequences, you can also find several variations of the well-known “qwerty” keyboard combination as well as “password” and the German equivalent “password” “.

According to the study, almost half of the most common passwords consist of the simplest keyboard combinations of numbers and letters, despite experts repeatedly advising internet users to make their passwords stronger. “The list of the most popular passwords once again shows that users' password habits still need improvement,” Nordpass wrote.

Switzerland is not an isolated case. Similar results emerged in the remaining 43 countries surveyed. Do it to your own detriment: According to research, 78% of the world's most popular passwords can be cracked in less than a second. The situation is even worse compared to last year (70%).

According to a recent Nordpass survey, the average Internet user logs in 168 times for personal purposes and 87 times for professional purposes. This number is too complex to manage for most users, and experts say it's natural for users to tend to create weak passwords and use them for multiple accounts at once.

Once you find your password on the list, you should change it as soon as possible. However, there is no list of the best passwords because they will no longer be secure. It's best to just follow the BACS prompts and use a password manager. Just like in a safe, you can store all your passwords there and keep track of them.

They are everywhere: they lie on the ground in the playground. You can always find them around football pitches: used snuff bags. What is the hype about? What are the consequences?

They are everywhere: they lie on the ground in the playground. It's common to see them on football pitches: used snuff bags.