File this one under “D” for “duh” — the easiest way for someone to break into protected accounts is by guessing your password because many of you just use that same word as part of said password. C’mon, people, get a little creative.

CNNMoney says the most common phrase used on business systems is the ridiculously easy “Password1.” That’s because it’s got an uppercase letter, a number and nine characters, fitting the bill for most system password requirements. So yeah, go ahead and change that right now.

Security services firm Trustwave spotlighted the “Password1” problem in its recently released “2012 Global Security Report,” which summarizes the firm’s findings from nearly 2 million network vulnerability scans and 300 recent security breach investigations.

They also found about 5% of passwords include the word “password” in some form, with the runner up being “welcome.” Guessing those weak passwords was the top method hackers used last year to gain access to systems, says the report.

Make your password less guessable by making it longer and adding complexity to it –¬†
a seven-character password has 70 trillion possible combinations and an eight-character password takes that to more than 6 quadrillion. That’s a lot of illions.

If you’re using ‘Password1,’ change it. Now. [CNNMoney]

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