Apparently very few people who used Ashley Madison prior to it being hacked understood the importance of choosing a good password. Because the top 20 passwords that they used were almost without fail really, really stupid.
After seeing the results of what software company Avast came up with when sorting through thousands of passwords it really is a miracle this hack didn’t take place a long time ago.
Now they didn’t go through all 36 million accounts, because that would take for-fucking-ever, but they did go through a million and that was more than enough to see just how weakly people who were trying to commit adultery tried to hide their deviant behavior.
1: 123456
2: password
3: 12345
4: 12345678
5: qwerty
6: pussy
7: secret
8: dragon
9: welcome
10: ginger
11: sparky
12: helpme
13: blowjob
14: nicole
15: justin
16: camaro
17: johnson
18: yamaha
19: midnight
20: chris
A few observations here: Chris must have been a very popular name for Ashley Madison users. A lot of people apparently knew exactly what they were seeking when signing on (pussy, ginger, blowjob). I had no idea “dragon” was such a popular password. And, finally, “helpme” was in the top 20? Wut? I’d love to know why so many potential adulterers chose that one.
Check out the rest of the study (there is a LOT more info) over at Avast’s blog.
H/T Happy Place