I hit password 1,500 on my list and had to laugh | Cybersecurity Tips

Barbara Lane · 2026-05-09T05:05:04.247194+00:00

I keep a spreadsheet of all the passwords I find across my freelance work. It started as a joke, just something to track the worst ones clients gave me. Last week I crossed the 1,500 mark and realized 80% of them were some variation of "password123" or a pet's name. One client even used "letmein" for their banking portal. It made me wonder how many people actually use password managers versus picking something easy to remember. Has anyone else ever tracked the bad passwords they come across?

uma_webb285mo ago

Your spreadsheet idea is interesting but it points to a deeper problem. People reuse passwords because nobody taught them how to make good ones in the first place. The real issue is schools and employers never explain that "password123" is basically handing over the keys.

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luna5893mo ago

Ha, exactly - schools should teach password basics BEFORE handing out Chromebooks!

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wade_perez5mo ago

Did you catch that last big breach report about what people are actually using? I read somewhere that "123456" and "password" still make up like 15% of all leaked passwords. That spreadsheet just proves most folks would rather save five seconds now than deal with getting hacked later.

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