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123456 is actually a /fantastic/ password if you don't care what happens to the account. If you aren't going to the trouble of using a password manager, and the

123456 is actually a /fantastic/ password if you don't care what happens to the account. If you aren't going to the trouble of using a password manager, and the account doesn't mean much to you, then using weak passwords like this rather than your "good" password is a great idea. Save the entropy for your email and bank accounts.

atdt 10y ago
I see your point, but 123456 is still a stupid password. A brain-dead password scheme like "1 <NameOfMyCat> <Domain>" (e.g., "1 Snuggles last.fm") is just as easy to remember, won't show up in rainbow tables, is nominally difficult to brute force, and you're more likely to be able to use it, as opposed to '123456', which many sites will balk at. (To be clear: I am not endorsing this scheme. It is superior to '123456', but it is still bone-headed.)
- vidarh 10y ago
  The point is that you should only use this kind of password in places where you really do not care about someone else getting access. It doesn't really matter what it is. It matters that it's something you're not for a moment tempted to think of as a "real" password and that you would never dream of using for any account where a data leak would affect you, but merely as a "they're stupidly asking me for a password for an account I don't care about, so lets just give them this" token. I'd lean towards agreeing with you that it's better to pick something else, but only to slightly reduce the inconvenience of someone messing with your account "just because".
theandrewbailey 10y ago
"Saving" entropy is ridiculous. It is literally everywhere, always growing, and can be called up on demand. Random password generators are a thing.
eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago
123456 is literally in the top 10 list of worst passwords. You might as well not have any password at all. I agree that your banks and sensitive logins should have the better passwords, but you can have a decent password, it be memorable, and it still do its job on services you don't care as much about.

atdt 10y ago

I see your point, but 123456 is still a stupid password. A brain-dead password scheme like "1 <NameOfMyCat> <Domain>" (e.g., "1 Snuggles last.fm") is just as easy to remember, won't show up in rainbow tables, is nominally difficult to brute force, and you're more likely to be able to use it, as opposed to '123456', which many sites will balk at. (To be clear: I am not endorsing this scheme. It is superior to '123456', but it is still bone-headed.)

vidarh 10y ago
The point is that you should only use this kind of password in places where you really do not care about someone else getting access. It doesn't really matter what it is. It matters that it's something you're not for a moment tempted to think of as a "real" password and that you would never dream of using for any account where a data leak would affect you, but merely as a "they're stupidly asking me for a password for an account I don't care about, so lets just give them this" token. I'd lean towards agreeing with you that it's better to pick something else, but only to slightly reduce the inconvenience of someone messing with your account "just because".

theandrewbailey 10y ago

"Saving" entropy is ridiculous. It is literally everywhere, always growing, and can be called up on demand. Random password generators are a thing.

eeeeeeeeeeeee 10y ago

123456 is literally in the top 10 list of worst passwords. You might as well not have any password at all. I agree that your banks and sensitive logins should have the better passwords, but you can have a decent password, it be memorable, and it still do its job on services you don't care as much about.