You may only get cleaned out once

These Were the Most Common Digital Passwords of 2016. If you use an online password on this list, you may as well print your SSN and banking and personal information in the newspaper.

A recent study of 10 million leaked passwords by computer security firm Keeper identified the most common passwords of 2016. Surprisingly, the top 25 passwords on the list accounted for 50 percent of all 10 million that were analyzed.

Unsurprisingly, the list is a stunning display of laziness. Here they are:

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. qwerty
4. 12345678
5. 111111
6. 1234567890
7. 1234567
8. password
9. 123123
10. qwertyuiop
11. 987654321
12. mynoob
13. 123321
14. 666666
15. 18atcskd2w
16. 777777
17. 1q2w3e4r
18. 654321
19. 555555
20. 3rjs1la7qe
21. google
22. 1q2w3e4r5t
23. 123qwe
24. zxcvbnm
25. 1q2w3e

What do they all have in common? They are easy to type on a keyboard. Take number 10 - "qwertyuiop" is simply every lower-case letter on the top row. Likewise the bottom row for #24.

I use a different PW and logon for every place I log into. I never duplicate and I use a generator to form each one with 128-bit security. For example, it just gave me this password that it says would take centuries to crack: r>8(nUk&5j'v.

Too short? Try =9h2A!%^2^49V#/4.D)Hi=Kw5&HLr4L.

Trust me, neither of them will ever be active for me. I never re-use a PW, either. When it is retired from its site it is canned permanently.

If you use your name or some variant of it as your logon, stop. Change it to a logon that is wholly unrelated to anything about you. If you name is James K. Johnson, say, stop using jkjohnson as a logon and use 1850andrew or something else far afield. Don't give hackers half a key to your bank's web site!

What about security questions? Many sites feature these as a way for you to confirm your identity if you can't remember your PW. Some sites periodically just require them as an extra layer of safety.

A common one is, "What is your mother's maiden name?" Never enter the truth when you set these questions up! One site I use wants the name of the street I grew up on as a kid. Well, that was Saratoga, but you better believe that what I entered isn't that. It isn't even a word (see the PW examples, above).

In your entire life, you may be the intended victim of only one break-in attempt. But just once can be devastating. You may only get cleaned out once, but that once will be far too many.