Serious question, why do we still tell people to use 'password123' as a test?

I saw a coworker set up a new system and use that exact phrase for a temporary login last week. It hit me that we're training bad habits from day one. Has anyone found a better phrase to use for those quick test accounts that doesn't teach the wrong thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wesley19d ago

Honestly that phrase is burned into everyone's brain at this point. Saw a security training video that actually used "ChocolateRain42" as their example strong password, which at least breaks the pattern. Makes you wonder who picks these defaults and why they stick around for decades. Maybe we should all just use song lyrics with numbers swapped in for testing.

taylorshah19d ago

Remember my old router's default password was literally "changeme123" printed on a sticker.

the_claire18d ago

Actually those default passwords make sense though. They're meant to be easy to reset for regular people, not security experts. What's a better option that grandma can actually remember?