Your Money ; Scam Alert
; Save a Buck
Make your code hard to hack, easy to recall
Worst Passw0rds By Sid Kirchheimer
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. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football
Easiest
to guess
(and steal)
Bar code scanning apps make
being a frugal
shopper easy.
RedLaser, Shop-
Savvy and Pushpins are among
the many apps you can down-
load for free to your tablet,
iPhone or Android device. You
can scan or photograph items
and compare prices at retail
stores and online. Some bar code
scanning apps even generate
coupons you can use where
you’re shopping. —Jason Lawrence
; Apps to Make
Your Wallet Smile
If “password” is your online pass- word, you’re in good company … and that’s bad. As the single most
popular log-in used to access online
accounts, it’s also the one most easily
hacked by cybercriminals.
Changing the “o” to a zero—“pass-
w0rd”—is not much better. It ranks as
the 18th most common, according to
SplashID, a company that produces password management software. And with
more websites now requiring passwords
to include both letters and numbers,
you may think you’re safe with “abc123.”
Think again. That password ranked fifth.
Some new trends have popped up in
SplashID’s analysis of millions of pass-
words. Joining the longtime “don’t use”
password “qwerty”—the top left letters
on a keyword—is “qazwsx,” a top-to-
bottom sequence on the left. There’s
also increased use of common names.
Officials, however, are baffled by the
popularity of “monkey” and “shadow.”
But what’s clear is that using any of
these passwords significantly increas-
es your risk of identity theft. Although
cybercrooks sometimes apply sophis-
ticated hacking software, they’re more
likely to depend on the old-fashioned
method: repeatedly trying common
passwords to log into your account.
Your car’s making
a funny rattle? The
engine hesitates
when you acceler-
ate? Get it fixed
now. A survey by Consumer Reports
found that 40 percent of drivers delay
car repairs because they’re strapped
for money, but this often just leads to
costlier problems down the road.
CR’s Car Repair Estimator provides
estimates on service in your neighbor-
hood, but you have to pay to use it.
—Joan Rattner Heilman
; Fix the Car Now
Or Pay More Later
Sid Kirchheimer is the author of
Scam-Proof Your Life, published by AARP
Books/Sterling.
April showers?
Let savings “reign”
instead. This
month is prime
time to buy a TV
or other electronics bearing a Japa-
nese brand name. Why? The fiscal
year for most Japanese companies
ends in March, so you can expect
discounts on leftover models from
the previous year. Other smart April
buys include refrigerators, cookware,
vacuums, barbecue grills and snow
blowers. —Sid Kirchheimer
; April Advantage
