The worst PIN codes that are easy to crack have been named

If your fingerprint or facial recognition don't work, your smartphone can only be unlocked with a PIN code. This code is also used to protect tablets, laptops, and bank cards, so it's important to choose a strong combination.

What you should know

However, many people set simple PIN codes. An ABC News study based on 29 million cracked codes from Have I Been Pwned? showed that the most popular code is 1234 (used by 9% of people). Next in the anti-rating: 1111 (1.6%), 0000 (1.1%), as well as dates of birth (for example, 1986, 1989).

Only 10,000 PIN code combinations, and the chance of guessing one of them is 1 in 8 if there are 5 attempts. A similar problem exists with passwords: popular options are 123456, password, qwerty123. To protect your data, you should use more complex combinations.

Natasha Kumar

By Natasha Kumar

Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116