Splashdata recently released a list of the 25 worst passwords that were hacked into of 2011.
     Splashdata is a California software firm that analyzed tons of passwords that had been stolen to compile a list of the 25 most common ones. Some of them, like "password" and "123456" are very common and predictable, while others like "monkey" and "michael" are a bit harder to explain. Here is the full list:

1. password
2. 123456
3.12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passwOrd (The “O” is a zero here)
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

     If your password was any of the above, you probably ought to change it. Because as unlucky as you'd have to be to actually get hacked, you just might. Here are the tips that Splashdata gave to create a good password:

–Mix up the characters in a password — use letters, numbers and special characters.

–Longer passwords are better passwords. Try eight characters or more, perhaps two words separated by an underscore or a space.

–Don’t use one password for everything. If someone hacks your Facebook account, your bank account may be next.

--To remember them all, an online password manager may be useful. Or you may prefer a scrap of paper in your wallet.