How Secure Are Your Passwords?

Apparently, it's as easy as 123456 to hack into many people's private, password-protected accounts on the Internet.

Password management application provider SplashData has released its 2013 list of worst passwords, and "123456" tops the list for the first time, eclipsing "password", which has tumbled to the number two spot.

SplashData compiled the list from files containing millions of stolen passwords posted online during the previous year. The company advises consumers or businesses using any of the passwords on the list to change them immediately. To create hack-proof passwords, SplashData suggests using eight characters or more with mixed types of characters and notes that even passwords with common substitutions like "dr4mat1c" can be vulnerable to attackers' increasingly sophisticated technology, while random combinations like "j%7K&yPx$" can be difficult to remember. They offer one way to create more secure passwords that are easy to recall in the form of "passphrases" -- short words with spaces or other characters separating them, such as "cakes years birthday" or "smiles_light_skip?" But don't use either of those two, as they're published right on SplashData's website.