Last.fm Credential Leak Reveals the Need for Stronger s 5w112w

In today's internet age, having a strong is an unsaid prerequisite. And yet, people have a tendency to skip the painful process of coming up with a difficult for one that is as simple as '123456','' or 'qwerty'. These are but some of the s that have been revealed by a recent leak that dumped around 43 million data information from music streaming platform Last.fm on the internet. 2m2h1r

The data, stolen in 2012, show some of the most popular s used by Last.fm s. Last.fm's leak s the list of a series of high-profile leaks that include websites like LinkedIn. The data stolen from Last.fm contains emails, registration dates and s of s. The s were decrypted by LeakedSource and the list shows that weak, easy s are the popular choice. Here's the top 10 most popular s according to LeakedSource:

• 123456
• lastfm
• 123456789
• qwerty
• abc123
• abcdefg
• 12345
• 1234
• music

(Also see: There's a New Way to Make Strong s, and It's Way Easier)

The list is quite shocking given how people store most of their personal information on the internet. The leak not only tells us that cybercrime is on a rampage, but that there is a need to inform s on the importance of keeping a strong to protect their information.

Last.fm had around 49 million s at the time of the hack. While the list may seem funny to many, it is however a reality that needs to be addressed. Even though a website like Last.fm isn't among those that store sensitive information, there is a tendency among s to reuse the same s for other sites. And this in turn leaves all those site vulnerable to hackers. After all, if Facebook's own CEO Mark Zuckerberg can be hacked then so can anyone.

(Also see: Opera Sync Servers Breached; Synced s May Have Been Compromised)

It is advisable to those who prefer keeping simple, easy-to- s to change them regularly and not use the same for multiple sites. While you're at it, deleting s that are no longer in use is a good way to prevent your past to from catching up to you. Yet, the best way to stay safe is to put in some time and effort to come up with a long, difficult . For the internet is dark and full of terrors.